Party system closure. Party alliances, government alternatives and democracy in Europe

Abstract

climate change as an urgency, there are some independently elected representatives, a very distinctive feature of the Irish electoral system, who have openly toyed with climate scepticism. Moreover, it would be naïve not to appreciate that powerful Irish interest groups remain influential and who systematically favour carbon-intensive activities. These are not least organised farming interests, but also state agencies or elites, and even multi-national tech giants who have made Ireland a global hub for energy-hungry data centres. In this regard, the chapter by Clare Watson on community-led renewable energy projects is a deft exploration of how the established Irish energy policy insiders have jealously guarded any scope for innovation by simply not providing the policy incentives for outsiders to offer alternatives. Equally insightful is an intriguing chapter by Declan Fahy, which explores the deeper social attitudes and ideological basis for Irish approaches to climate change. Here Ireland fits within the weaker, more nebulous, varieties of ecological modernisation, not least because Ireland was a latecomer to modern economic and social development, with pastoralist, autarkic, nationalism casting a long shadow for much of the first century of Irish independence. Obviously, this review cannot do justice to all the individual contributions in this volume, but one can end by noting this book represents the most comprehensive and thought-provoking survey of Irish responses to climate change to date. Moreover, many of the chapters, and the volume overall, end on something of an optimistic note by suggesting that the tide has turned towards engagement and greater leadership. Perhaps the Irish, and their political system, have finally realised it is time to face the zombie apocalypse of climate change after all?