Новини освіти і науки:

G+

Тлумачний словник
Авто
Автоматизація
Архітектура
Астрономія
Аудит
Біологія
Будівництво
Бухгалтерія
Винахідництво
Виробництво
Військова справа
Генетика
Географія
Геологія
Господарство
Держава
Дім
Екологія
Економетрика
Економіка
Електроніка
Журналістика та ЗМІ
Зв'язок
Іноземні мови
Інформатика
Історія
Комп'ютери
Креслення
Кулінарія
Культура
Лексикологія
Література
Логіка
Маркетинг
Математика
Машинобудування
Медицина
Менеджмент
Метали і Зварювання
Механіка
Мистецтво
Музика
Населення
Освіта
Охорона безпеки життя
Охорона Праці
Педагогіка
Політика
Право
Програмування
Промисловість
Психологія
Радіо
Регилия
Соціологія
Спорт
Стандартизація
Технології
Торгівля
Туризм
Фізика
Фізіологія
Філософія
Фінанси
Хімія
Юриспунденкция

The sovereignty of the union: Northern Ireland

Politics here is dominated by the historic animosity between the two communities there. The Catholic viewpoint is known as 'nationalist' or 'republican' (in support of the idea of a single Irish nation and its republican government); the Protestant viewpoint is known as 'unionist' or 'loyalist' (loyal to the union with Britain).

A little modern history is necessary to explain the present situation. By the beginning of the twentieth century, when Ireland was still part of the United Kingdom, the vast majority of people in Ireland wanted either home rule or complete independence from Britain. Liberal governments in Britain had accepted this and had attempted at various times to make it a reality. However, the one million Protestants in Ulster were violently opposed to this idea. They did not want to belong to a country dominated by Catholics. They formed less than a quarter of the total population of the country, but in Ulster they were in a 65% majority.

After the First World War the British government partitioned the country between the (mainly Catholic) south and the (mainly Protestant) north, giving each part some control of its internal affairs. But this was no longer enough for the south. There, support for complete independence had grown as a result of the British government's savage repression of the 'Easter Rising' in 1916. War followed. The eventual result was that the south became independent of Britain. Ulster, however, remained within the United Kingdom, with its own Parliament and Prime Minister. The Protestants had always had the economic power in the six counties. Internal self-government allowed them to take all the political power as well. Matters were arranged so that positions of official power were always filled by Protestants.

In the late 1960s a Catholic civil rights movement began. There was violent Protestant reaction and frequent fighting broke out. In 1969 British troops were sent in to keep order. At first they were welcomed, particularly among the Catholics. But troops, inevitably, often act without regard to democratic rights. In the tense atmosphere, the welcome disappeared. Extremist organizations from both communities began committing acts of terrorism, such as shootings and bombings. One of these groups, the Provisional IRA, then started a bombing campaign on the British mainland. In response, the British government reluctantly imposed certain measures not normally acceptable in a modern democracy, such as imprisonment without trial and the outlawing of organizations such as the IRA. The application of these measures caused resentment to grow. There was a hardening of attitudes in both, communities and support for extremist political parties increased.

There have been many efforts to find a solution to 'the troubles'. In 1972s the British government decided to rule directly from London. Over the next two decades most of the previous political abuses disappeared, and Catholics now have almost the same political rights as Protestants. In addition, the British and Irish governments have developed good relations and new initiatives are presented jointly. The troubles may soon be over.

III. Guess the meanings of the following expressions and illustrate the sentences from the text in which they are used.

1. to take over

2. to fit with the image

3. to keep order

4. to offer material help

5. sense of brotherhood

6. to come to one’s aid

7. to discourage

8. in favour

9. to slow down progress

10. to partition

11. internal affairs

12. to break out

13. the welcome

14. to commit acts of terrorism

15. hardening of attitudes

IV. Answer the questions:

1. What was distribution of forces on the international political scene after the Second World War?

2. What were the remnants of British empire after it’s dismantling?

3. Why was “National Service” abolished in Britain?

4. What caused the reduction of armed forces in Britain at the end of 1980s?

5. How was the reorganization of armed forces met by the army itself?

6. What does the expression “special relationship” imply?

7. What is public attitude towards British and American relationship?

8. How did the Britain’s membership in European Community influence

it’s international status?

9. Can we consider Britain a part of Europe?

10. How did Britain slow down progress towards European unity?

11. Why did the resentment of Scottish people increase in early 1990s?

12. Why have the Scottish become the most enthusiastic Europeans in the UK?

13. How does nationalism (if any) manifest itself in Wales?

14. What two communities of Northern Ireland are mentioned in this chapter?

15. What were the historic prerequisites of the animosity of these two

groups? What did their fightings lead to?

V. Interpret the sentences:

1. “By the 1970s it was generally accepted that a “superpower” conference involved only the USA and the Soviet Union”.

2. “In fact, Britain’s armed forces are one of the few institutions that its people admit to being proud of”

3. “Since the Second World War, Britain’s governments have often referred to the “special relationship” which exists between Britain and the USA”.

4. Europe has not been promoted as a subject for debate to the electorate.

5. But now the Scottish, as a group, have become the most enthusiastic Europeans in UK.

VI. Express your agreement or disagreement.

1. After the Second World War it was generally understood that a conference of the world’s great powers involved the USA, the Soviet Union and Britain.

2. Britain prides itself of preserving some small remnants of the formed empire.

3. Nowadays Britain is as great nuclear nation as the USA.

4. British people feel closer to the USA rather than to the European Union.

5. The people of Scotland have changed from being “anti - Europe” to being “pro – Europe” in the last twenty years of the twentieth century.

6. Catholics in the Northern Ireland now have almost the same political rights as Protestants.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
The sovereignty of the union: Scotland and Wales	\|

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.004 сек.