Background to the Research

• At the time of the survey (1996), NI's form of government was direct rule. The author, in the introduction, points out that virtually all of the NI political parties regarded this system of government as unsatisfactory. In addition, almost all of the British administrations since 1972 had made some attempt to change the form of government, demonstrating that they too found direct rule to be unsatisfactory. There were also two directly opposing viewpoints on the level at which change of governing system was needed. Unionists argued for change at the "institutional" level, retaining the constitutional link with the UK, while Nationalists argued that change was needed at the "constitutional" level.
• In the mid and late 1990's the British government had begun the "three stranded" peace process, relating to government reform within NI, and relationships between Ireland and GB, and NI and ROI. By this process, they accepted that the issue of government in NI was not a solely internal matter, but needed to be resolved in a wider context of relationships between NI, ROI and GB. Direct rule may have been unsatisfactory for all sides, but it had brought political stability, and many of the institutions of government, particularly health, education and social welfare, are accepted by all sides as fundamental and essential, despite their reservations about the framework within which they existed.
  

Research Approach

• This book chapter involves secondary analysis of data from the 1996 NI Social Attitudes Survey.
  

Main Findings

• This book chapter begins by looking at attitudes to politics in general in NI. Despite the polarised political climate in NI, the survey found that a higher proportion of the NI population was less interested in politics than their GB counterparts. Overall, 43% of the NI respondents said that they were either "not very interested" or "not at all interested" in politics, compared to 36% of those in GB. In both groups, women expressed less interest than men.
• In NI, Catholics were less interested than Protestants, while those listed as "others" (those who either did not declare their religion, or were members of non-Christian religions) were least interested of all. The author proposes that the violence associated with politics in NI in recent decades has led to a "depolitication" of a large section of the community, and that for many people politics "has been a choice between the unacceptable and the unrealistic". Additionally, he proposes that the fear of violence has led to many people being reluctant to express political opinions.
• The survey investigated respondents' level of "bewilderment" with politics and government in NI. 27% of NI respondents agreed with a statement that NI politics were sometimes too complicated for the respondent to understand, compared to a 22% figure for GB. Again, there was a gender difference, with women more likely to agree with this statement than men. These results point to a population that is more detached from, and confused by, politics than those in GB.
• However, in spite of the "depolitication" of a section of the community, fundamental differences exist in respondents attitudes towards changes in the constitution of the state. These differences were, as expected, on religious lines. 53% of Catholics expressed an attitude that aspired to NI being within a united Ireland at some time in the future, while 78% of Protestants were opposed to this proposal. The author suggests that the lack of opposition to the proposal of a united Ireland among Catholics (only 13% disagreed or disagreed strongly with the aspirational statement) suggests that while some Catholics do not actively support a united Ireland, they are also not supportive of NI remaining within the UK.
• The survey asked respondents to measure their level of trust in government acting in their best interests. As well as asking how much they trusted the government in the current "direct rule" situation, respondents were also asked to consider how much they would trust the government to act in their interests if they were subject to either self rule in NI, or a united Ireland government. The results show that the respondents were less likely to trust the British Government in "direct rule" than either of the other two options.
• Forty-one per cent of respondents (32% of Protestants, 49% of Catholics, 49% other) would rarely or never trust the British government to act in the best interests of NI. The "self-rule" option was trusted by Protestants, and opposed by Catholics, while the opposite was true in the "united Ireland" option. In all cases, a GB sample of respondents showed very low levels of trust (<14%) in any government option for NI.
• A question on attitudes to information held by government on individuals showed that Protestants were more trusting of the institutions of government than Catholics and GB citizens. Further questions looked at attitudes towards public protest and dissent. It was proposed that opposition to public protest would indicate authoritarian attitudes and support for a repressive state. Additionally, support for a state's right to repress dissent implied a level of trust in government and acceptance of the authority of the government. Results point to NI being a more authoritarian society than GB, although Catholics are more likely to support law-breaking in response to issues of conscience than Protestants. "Republican" Catholics (those who also support a united Ireland), and "loyalist" Protestants (those most opposed to a united Ireland) are the most likely to support public protest and marches and demonstrations. However, apart from these two groups, there is a lower level of support for public protest than in GB. This may be explained by experiences of civil unrest that have made the NI population wary of public protest.

Conclusion

• The author states that attitudes to government in NI exist in the context of uncertainty about the future form and structure of government. The low level of interest in politics may reflect an attitude that people feel powerless to effect political change and see politics as something out of their control and beyond their ability to influence, especially as there has been political stalemate for over 25 years.
• Both communities may feel that their expressed democratic preferences for the form of government they want is being ignored, and instead the "direct rule" government that neither community supports has been maintained. In this context, it is hardly surprising that there is a lack of interest in, and understanding of, politics and low levels of trust in government to act in the best interests of NI.