Political Probe
Asynchronous Session
Stuck in the ‘Middle’ with You: A Conceptual Analysis of Northern Ireland’s Political ‘Centre-ground’ View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Louisa Barry
With the recent emergence of centrist politics in Northern Ireland, this paper offers a conceptual analysis of Northern Ireland’s political ‘centre-ground’. It contributes to growing debates on Irish unity and the increase in individuals identifying as ‘neither unionist nor nationalist’. Relying on 40+ interviews with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and the Green Party Northern Ireland, this paper recognises that ‘remaining neutral’ is a constitutional position in its own right, but adds conceptual meaning to this position by demonstrating the identity dynamics and non-binary thinking of those within this ‘centre-ground’. It reviews how the ‘centre-ground’ makes sense of its hesitant feelings towards their parties picking a side. It profiles the malleability of identity in the group, which is disconnected from symbolic elements. The paper argues that identity plays into the deliberations of this traditionally ‘practical’ grouping on a referendum for a united Ireland (‘border poll’). It challenges claims that Brexit significantly changed the centre-grounds’ unification preferences. It draws how the ‘centre-ground’ imagines a ‘united Ireland’ and its micro-awareness of the sensitivities around certain constiutional language. The paper illustrates the group’s preferences around pre-border poll planning and the barrier for this group in expressing suggestions for accommodating different identities. Importantly, it defines their views on what would make Northern Ireland ‘ready’ for a vote. Placing the ‘centre-ground’ within the Irish unity debate is important because neither nationalists nor unionists hold a clear majority in Northern Ireland and public opinion on constitutional change is the legal trigger for a border poll.
Digital Tools of Engagement: An Interdisciplinary Approach View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Jeremy Schulz, Zhuyu Li, Katia Moles, Laura Robinson
While studies have probed Gen Zers’ engagement in the digital public sphere, very few scholars have probed how the internet facilitates the migration of people and ideas among this generation that is just coming of age. The study is timely and needed given that there has been a documented increase in civic engagement among this generation that remains understudied. To begin to fill this gap, the project probes how generational-specific communication norms facilitate Gen Zers’ engagement in the digital public sphere. The study does so by bringing together social scientists specializing in digital sociology, information inequalities, and tech ethics to treat qualitative and quantitative data from two hundred Gen Z respondents. Thanks to the interdisciplinary strengths of the team, the research draws on a breadth of social science methods including original survey design, in-depth interviews, and matched respondent focus groups. Results reveal how different access to different communication environments raises consciousness about different issues. In turn, findings also show how interactional norms fortify students’ self-confidence as change makers, as well as how communication strategies can build Gen Zers’ confidence and willingness to contribute to the digital public sphere. The project brings these empirical findings data to bear on typologies advanced by Peschl, Deng, and Larson (2021) to develop a theory of changemaking that requires a willingness to solve problems in the face of ambiguity, empathy for unknown others, tolerance for risk and potential failure, and the ability to grow from criticism--findings with implications for civic studies, global studies, and communication.
Living the Safe Third Country Agreement: A Re-articulation of Exclusionary Immigration Policies in Canada
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Sarah Voegeli West
Since its introduction in the 1980s, the way in which Canada as a nation accepts and processes refugees has been fueled by an underlying priority of state protection as opposed to that of protecting refugee rights. The evolution of this system consistently places Canada as a nation that acts in its own self-interest as opposed to prioritizing the protection needs of non-citizens asking for protection. The goal of this research is to analyze the experience of refugee claimants coming to Canada between the years of 2022 and 2023 as changes to the Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States of America were introduced. It has been framed with a lens of Critical Race Theory (CRT) to better position the experiences of twelve refugee claimants from Afghanistan, Venezuela, and Haiti as they navigated through the Canadian reception and refugee determination system in a major Canada-USA border city of Windsor, Ontario. Through a mixture of qualitative interviews and a narrative approach, this study highlights the many experiences of those who use the system put in place to offer them protection. Through describing these experiences, challenges in the current system in Canada have been identified and recommendations have been proposed to enhance the overall approach to refugee reception and determination in a way that incorporates a more holistic approach to refugee protection and places the experience of refugee claimants at the center of policy decisions.
Featured Free Floating Framework for Spontaneous Policy Making in Political Science View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Narjes Zeinolabedin
This proposal examines the evolution of policy analysis from rational choice and policy cycles to a focus on conceptual construction and argumentation. Central to this transformation is the understanding that policy-making is shaped by conceptual frameworks or narratives, which provide the structure and meaning for policy actions. Influenced by the works of Maarten A. Hajer, Frank Fischer, Emery Roe, and Deborah Stone, this research adopts a poststructuralist view that language creates reality. The researcher argues for the application of Derridean deconstruction to challenge and reframe existing policy narratives, thus eliminating binary oppositions and fostering the development of more organic and spontaneous policies. The methodology combines Critical Discourse Analysis with qualitative approaches such as Ruth Wodak’s Historical approach and Paul Gee’s methods. The research also incorporates an interactive, diachronic, and synchronic analysis, with the potential use of Chaos theory to explain complex outcomes. The findings aim to contribute to a more nuanced and adaptable approach to policy-making, addressing contemporary societal needs.
