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School of Law & Social Justice Event Space, University of Liverpool, L69 7ZR
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The Northern Ireland Assembly, a product of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, has not attracted the level of academic attention it deserves.
Having been suspended (or de facto suspended) for around 40% of its lifetime, conversation has tended to focus on the wider political problems in which the Assembly has been entangled, and less on how the institution fulfils the day-to-day functions of a legislature.
In this new publication, Dr Sean Haughey provides the first book-length study of how the Assembly fulfils four key functions of a legislature: representation, linkage, scrutiny, and policy-making.
The book grounds its analysis in original data sourced from elite interviews, surveys, parliamentary questions, legislation, and the Official Report of parliamentary proceedings.
The book paints a mixed and nuanced picture of the Assembly, in that it lives up to its (often poor) reputation in some respects but defies expectations in others.
Overall, when the Assembly is left alone to do its job, Haughey suggests it is a busier institution than its critics would care to admit.
Following a short talk on the book’s findings and a Q&A, wine and light refreshments will be served.
This is an in-person event. A virtual event may be scheduled for later in the year.
Dr Sean Haughey is Lecturer in Politics at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.