Ethnic nationalism in Northern Ireland : A polarizing force in society

Since the Irish island was partitioned in the 20th century general civil unrest has been constantly present. This has led to Northern Ireland being a segregated society and to some degree, this continues even today. During the 60’s up to the 90’s violence was widespread.Paramilitaries committed acts of violence and terror against each other and civilians were often the victims. The conflict is perpetuated by two blocs in Northern Irish society. These blocs have historically been defined by sectarian identities; this remains to this date to some extent. However, these identity boundaries have expanded to things beyond christianity. Today class, income and other various types of communities factor into the creation of individual identity. Because of this change, the use of a common history has slowly become irrelevant to modern day catholics or protestants in Northern Ireland. Instead of the previous injustices committed against the group in question, general socio-economic issues are central. Religion, identity and politics in Northern Ireland go hand in hand. As many other states around the world, the state in Northern Ireland is separated from the church. Despite this, christian communities, both catholic and protestant, are deeply involved in policy creation. Parliamentary politics are tied to sectarian and societal identity also. Surveys have shown that voters usually vote within their communities. It is rare for catholics to vote for loyalist protestant parties and vice versa. Ethnic nationalism in Northern Ireland takes a different shape today. The armed volunteers inparamilitary groups have been substituted by career politicians that use democratic means to further the political struggle. There are two main actors behind the loyalist and republican movements in contemporary Northern Irish society, the DUP and Sinn Féin. These parties try to move away from violent extremism through politicizing the ethnonationalist movements that is republicanism and loyalism. This change is thanks to a difference in many aspects of humansocialization in Northern Ireland. Individuals have a new way of viewing their identities and communities