ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the development of party competition in Northern Ireland by identifying three broad phases in which the patterns and extent of competition can be clearly distinguished. It argues that electoral behavior in Northern Ireland is better understood as a rational response to the competitive dynamics of an ethnic party system than as a primordial reaction to ancient antagonisms. The chapter examines competition within each segment in the dual-party system. Northern Ireland's dual-party system was fully institutionalized by the decision of Provisional Sinn Fein—;; in the wake of the 1980-1981 republican hunger strikes—;; to challenge the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP)'s right to speak for Northern nationalists by contesting elections. Party competition in Northern Ireland is not simply—;; or even primarily—;; a reflection of ineluctable ancient antagonisms. Indeed, it is better understood as an electorally rational contest for position within the constraints of a segmented dual-party system.