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Northern Ireland (NI) has pervasively been a fragile and often disputed city-regional nation. Despite NI's slim majority in favour of remaining in the European Union, de facto Brexit, post-pandemic challenges and the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) have revealed a dilemma: people of all political hues have started to question aspects of their own citizenship. Consequently, this chapter suggests an innovative approach called ‘Algorithmic Nations’ to better articulate its emerging/complex citizenship regimes for this divided and post-conflict society in which identity borders and devolution may be facilitated through blockchain technology. This chapter assesses implications of this dilemma for a city-regionalised nation enmeshed within the UK, Ireland and Europe: NI through Belfast, its main metropolitan hub. The chapter explores digital citizenship in NI by applying ‘Algorithmic Nations’ framework particularly relating to intertwined (1) cross-bordering, (2) critical awareness, (3) digital activism and (4) post-pandemic realities and concludes with three dilemmas and how ‘Algorithmic Nations’ framing could better integrate NI's digital citizenship.

The Ireland-Northern Ireland Protocol has been one of the most contentious aspects of the EU-UK post-Brexit trade relationship. By requiring the UK to comply with EU customs and internal market rules in relation to Northern Ireland (NI), the Protocol has created a hybrid trade regime where NI is subject to multiple, overlapping and often conflicting rules. This paper aims to examine one area in which this hybridity manifests itself. It focusses on the interplay between the Protocol and post-Brexit UK trade agreements. It examines potential areas of conflict between Protocol obligations and obligations derived from UK trade agreements. In doing so, it sheds light on the extent to which compliance with the Protocol may undermine NI’s ability to export and import goods under the preferential terms negotiated under UK trade agreements. It further discusses the consequences of these incompatibilities between the Protocol and these agreements for NI and, more widely, the functioning of the UK internal market as whole.

Doctrinal legal research

The paper examines potential areas of conflict between Protocol obligations and obligations derived from UK trade agreements. In doing so, it sheds light on the extent to which compliance with the Protocol may undermine NI’s ability to export and import goods under the preferential terms negotiated under UK trade agreements. It further discusses the consequences of these incompatibilities between the Protocol and these agreements for NI and, more widely, the functioning of the UK internal market as whole.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge this is the first paper carrying out a comprehensive legal analysis of the interaction and potential conflicts between the Protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland and the UK’s post Brexit trade agreements.

Over more than thirty years of violent conflict, Northern Ireland had an intense sectarian violence due to the political-religious opposition between its Catholic and Protestant communities. The history of the Muslim community in Northern Ireland and the nature of the events in the region have had implications on the establishment of an Islamic environment. This paper aims to explore the problems encountered by the Muslim community in Northern Ireland in their attempt to build their first purpose built mosque. The paper is based on data collected during a study conducted between 2005 and 2007. However, a more recent literature review has been conducted. The study investigates the establishment of Islamic spaces, architecture and symbols. It explores the ways developed by the Muslim community in order to conceptualize and establish their first purpose-built mosque in Northern Ireland, but it also investigates how Muslim adapt and modify their domestic and communal spaces for their cultural, religious and identity needs and concerns. This paper offers an understanding of why the Muslim community needs to build its first formal-built-purpose mosque in Northern Ireland, and how the members of this community adapt to continuously changing liminal spaces.

Evaluates how economic co‐operation can be organized for the mutual advantage of the two economies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The methodological approach adopted by the authors explores the dynamics of market design within the two transitional economies and examines how they could contribute to the performance of an all‐island economy. The emphasis is on public utilities, electricity and telecommunications as sources of inter‐firm synergies. At a time when many European countries are moving towards greater integration, it is imperative that the two economies on the island of Ireland integrate in order to realize competitive advantages. Integration may not be the panacea for solving specific economic problems such as unemployment or housing shortages, however, it will solve the problem of diseconomies of small scale which impair the competitiveness of commercially oriented public utility firms on the island. The politics is not about the spoils of a united Ireland but the gains from participation in an integrated Europe. The primary objective is in realizing the economic reality of all‐island commercial activities which will dissipate rents, eliminate inefficiencies, create incentives and release real economic growth.

This chapter explores the topic of supporting young people to become innovators for societal change in terms of equity and renewal from the perspective of school principals in Northern Ireland, a post-conflict society. We examine how school principals can be empowered in their role in providing this support and the challenges and turbulence that they face in their work. The chapter provides contextual information about education in what is still largely a divided society in Northern Ireland. The principals who were interviewed as part of this research were working within school partnerships as part of ‘shared education’ projects. In Northern Ireland, the Shared Education Act (2016) provides a legislative basis for two or more local schools from different educational sectors to work in partnership to provide an opportunity for sustained shared learning activities with the aim of improving both educational and reconciliation outcomes for young people. The challenges for school leadership of working in partnership in societies emerging from conflict has not been given the attention it deserves in the literature, so this work is significant in that it brings together a focus on school leadership in a ‘shared education’ context, drawing on theories of collaboration and turbulence to examine how principals can best be empowered to be agents of change, so that pupils in Northern Ireland can also become empowered to make society there more equitable and peaceful. While the focus is on Northern Ireland, the learnings from this study will be of wider interest and significance as similar challenges are faced by school leaders internationally.

This chapter examines the (in)visibility and symbolism of women in sports governance on the island of Ireland, taking as its main empirical focus available data on the boards of government-funded national governing bodies, north and south. The distinctiveness of the Irish case is explained by three factors: the governance minefield, itself a legacy of Irish-British relations and partition in the 1920s, recognisable patterns in gender relations north and south and the functioning of sport as a safe, largely unquestioned and intriguingly vague symbolism for inclusion and peace in Northern Ireland. These conditions have resonance today, not only for women in sport and the approach to quotas, for instance, but that also play out in the delivery of Brexit and the struggles that characterise Irish-British relations more generally. The chapter concludes with a consideration of future challenges and areas for further research.

Explores the attitudes of employers and unions in Northern Ireland to the revival in the 1980s of earlier concerns about religious discrimination, and to the failure of the Fair Employment Act 1976 to make any real impact on Roman Catholic disadvantage in the labour market. Concludes that not only were their responses predictable but that, almost as a result, the unions had a disproportionate influence on the final shape of the new legislation introduced in 1989.

The purpose of this paper is to outline and critique the current model of adult safeguarding in Northern Ireland (NI).

The paper offers a critical analysis of adult safeguarding, legislation, policy and practice. Insights are offered from the Regional Adult Safeguarding Officer for NI, and available research evidence is cited.

Distinct features of Northern Irish society have shaped its adult safeguarding policy and practice in ways which differ from those in England, Scotland and Wales. The strengths and limitations of the legal and policy framework, and practice systems are discussed.

The paper offers the viewpoint of the authors, which may not be representative.

The potential advantages and challenges of the Northern Irish safeguarding systems are presented, and potential future developments are highlighted.

Changes have been highlighted in the way adult safeguarding has been conceptualised. An emphasis on prevention and early intervention activities, with a key role envisaged for community, voluntary and faith sector organisations, have been noted.

This paper provides an accessible overview of adult safeguarding in NI, which to date has been lacking from the literature.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the prospects of Belfast as a Tourism City with a special focus on dark (troubles) tourism.

This paper uses two surveys – one for overseas-based potential tourists and one for Northern Ireland residents; one focus group with potential tourists; and three interviews, one with a Belfast MP and two with tour-guide operators, one from each side of the Northern Ireland divide. This paper is less theoretical than exploratory.

Generally, there is strong and widespread support for the concept of troubles tourism. Stakeholders must ensure that troubles tourism is intelligently and sensitively handled and builds up communities.

This is a relatively new and under-researched area. Belfast has been rarely looked at in urban-tourism studies. Findings have applicability for other post-conflict and divided countries, such as the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

This study explores policy and practice in relation to a peripheral rural region food support programme for small (micro) food enterprises and the impact on business development and innovation.

An exploratory case study methodology is employed focusing on the effectiveness of a local support programme for micro business development in the food sector, in a European Union peripheral, rural location.

The effective integration of policy and practice in the design and implementation of a public/private partnership programme can enable micro businesses to benefit from Government aid in a collective manner that would not have been possible in a Government–micro enterprise dyadic relationship.

The study focuses on one region and on one particular support programme. However, the research highlights the potential benefits that can accrue to micro food producers, and micro companies more generally from participation in such a programme, and identifies the types of support that are particularly effective for these types of organisations. The research identifies the possibilities and challenges of applying the South Eastern Economic Development type programme to other regions.

The success of such support programmes depends on identifying the needs of the participants at an early stage in the programme and in tailoring training and support accordingly. There are benefits from local government working closely with private consultants as brokers for micro enterprise business development and innovation.

Micro enterprises play key economic, social and cultural roles within their local rural community. Collectively they offer opportunities for rural employment and tourism development.

The chapter addresses a major gap in knowledge around the role of policies and supports in assisting business development and innovation in relation to micro size enterprises, and more specifically food micro enterprises based in peripheral, rural regions.