TY - JOUR
T1 - Methodological nationalism and the Northern Ireland blind-spot in ethnic and racial studies
AU - Gilligan, Chris
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Northern Ireland (NI) has been one of the central issues in Brexit. Yet, it barely featured in the discussions in the run up to the EU Referendum in 2016. This blind-spot regarding NI, has been a long-standing feature of social science research on the UK. This article examines the NI blind-spot, with a particular focus on its operation in ethnic and racial studies. The article examines the NI blind-spot as a methodological issue, through an application of, and then critical reflection on, the concept of ‘methodological nationalism’. The article also examines the NI blind-spot in relation to two key areas of applied ethnic and racial studies: immigration, and; ‘race relations’. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of our analysis for ethnic and racial studies in, and of, the UK.
AB - Northern Ireland (NI) has been one of the central issues in Brexit. Yet, it barely featured in the discussions in the run up to the EU Referendum in 2016. This blind-spot regarding NI, has been a long-standing feature of social science research on the UK. This article examines the NI blind-spot, with a particular focus on its operation in ethnic and racial studies. The article examines the NI blind-spot as a methodological issue, through an application of, and then critical reflection on, the concept of ‘methodological nationalism’. The article also examines the NI blind-spot in relation to two key areas of applied ethnic and racial studies: immigration, and; ‘race relations’. We conclude by reflecting on the implications of our analysis for ethnic and racial studies in, and of, the UK.
KW - Northern Ireland
KW - methodological nationalism
KW - United Kingdom
KW - Brexit
KW - immigration
KW - race relations
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111850941&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/01419870.2021.1950793
DO - 10.1080/01419870.2021.1950793
M3 - Article
SN - 0141-9870
VL - 45
SP - 431
EP - 451
JO - Ethnic and Racial Studies
JF - Ethnic and Racial Studies
IS - 3
ER -