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Palgrave Macmillan
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How Ireland Voted 2020

The End of an Era

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

  • Provides a comprehensive account of Ireland's 2020 general elections
  • Features contributions by distinguished scholars analysing the election and by practising politicians giving their accounts of the campaign
  • Includes analysis of voting behaviour, gender quotas, and government formation

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

Keywords

About this book

This book is the 9th volume in the established How Ireland Voted series and provides the definitive story of Ireland’s mould-breaking 2020 election. For the first time ever, Sinn Féin won the most votes, the previously dominant parties shrank to a fraction of their former strengths, and the government to emerge was a coalition between previously irreconcilable enemies. For these reasons, the election marks the end of an era in Irish politics. This book analyses the course of the campaign, the parties’ gains and losses, and the impact of issues, especially the role of Brexit. Voting behaviour is explored in depth, with examination of the role of issues and discussion of the role of social cleavages such as class, age and education. The process by which the government was put together over a period of nearly five months is traced through in-depth interviews with participants. And six candidates who contested Election 2020 give first-hand reports of their campaigns.



Reviews

“How Ireland Voted 2020 garners stellar contributions from the best scholars of Irish electoral politics. In addition to the analysis of leading Irish academics, this edited volume offers a glossary, list of abbreviations, chronology, and set of colour photos to begin the book. This background information is most helpful to those less familiar with the parties and personalities associated with contemporary Irish politics.” (Timothy White, Estudios Irlandeses, Vol. 17, 2022)

“The book contains lots of detail on many different angles.” (Mick Fealty, sluggerotoole.com, July 23, 2021)


“Like many West European countries, twenty-first century Ireland has experienced dramatic social and political change. How Ireland Voted provides invaluable insight into how and why the 2020 election added yet another important chapter to this story, as both politicians and voters adjusted and reacted to the unfamiliar landscape in which they found themselves.” (Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK) 

“The definitive, comprehensive word on a remarkable election, combining in-depth political context with expert analysis, this book is a must-read for contemporary understanding of Irish elections and will also be a valuable historical record.” (Jane Green, Professorial Fellow, Nuffield College, University of Oxford, UK) 

“An invaluable guide not just to how Ireland voted, but to why Ireland voted the way it did. Required reading for those wishing to understand the last election,and prepare for the next one.” (David McCullagh, RTÉ)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Michael Gallagher, Michael Marsh

  • Department of Government and Politics, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland

    Theresa Reidy

About the editors

Michael Gallagher is Professor of Comparative Politics in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Michael Marsh is Emeritus Professor of Political Science in Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Theresa Reidy is Senior Lecturer in Government at University College Cork, Ireland.


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