Murphy, Mary P. (2011) Civil society in the shadow of the Irish state. Irish Journal of Sociology, 19 (2). pp. 170-187. ISSN 0791-6035
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Abstract
The dominant perception is that Irish society has responded to the current economic crisis in a relatively muted, moderate and passive fashion. How can we
explain this apparent absence of political contestation or protest in Irish civil
society? Various cultural and historical explanations can partially explain this
apparent passivity; the approach here complements these explanations by exploring the institutional nature of the Irish state as an explanatory factor for
the nature of the Irish civil society response to the crisis. Having first defined
civil society and explored the scale and scope of Irish civil society, the article
focuses on whether, or to what extent, the relative absence of a progressive civil
society or movements can be partially attributed to the institutional nature of the
Irish state. Five institutional or state-centred rationales are offered: the populist
nature of Irish political parties; patterns of interest group formation; clientalism;
corporatism; and state strategies to silence dissent. The impact on civil society
of the increased marketisation of public goods is briefly discussed. The article
argues that more critical awareness in civil society of how populist state institutions influence civil society will open up new possibilities for civil society
strategies. It concludes by examining how institutions, interests and ideas might
change. Society needs to develop a greater public sphere where cross-sectoral
progressive alliances can demonstrate popular support for alternatives.
Item Type: | Article |
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Keywords: | Irish civil society; clientalism; marketisation; public sphere; active society; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology |
Item ID: | 4589 |
Identification Number: | 10.7227/IJS.19.2.11 |
Depositing User: | Dr. Mary Murphy |
Date Deposited: | 18 Nov 2013 12:59 |
Journal or Publication Title: | Irish Journal of Sociology |
Publisher: | Manchester University Press |
Refereed: | Yes |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/4589 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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