Towards a Second Republic

Kirby (international politics, U. of Limerick, Ireland) and Murphy (Irish politics and society, National U. of Ireland) expose the Celtic Tiger model of capitalism by analyzing the political institutions, interests in civil society, and ideology that contribute to its creation. The book is organized into four parts, the first of which describes the historical evolution of Irish politics since the founding of the Irish Free State in 1922, as well as the perpetual civil service bureaucracy and its role in Irish society, politics and economy. Then the authors analyze the nature of the Irish boom and the (unequal) distribution of its effects across Irish society, as well as the features that led to its collapse, including links in political and banking systems. They bring this analysis into the context of the EU to see how international factors contributed to the problematic Celtic Tiger model, how they could contribute to a more sustainable model, and how Ireland's response to the 2008 financial crisis compares with other relatively small states, like Iceland and Spain. Finally, Kirby and Murphy make the case for a sweeping series of reforms, discussing how these could change Irish politics and create a "second republic." Each chapter offers indexed sub-sections and a conclusion. Distributed in the US by Palgrave Macmillan. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)