The South of Ireland during the interregnum: A Gramscian analysis of continuity and change

Political life in the Irish state has been transformed following the economic and social convulsions of the Global Financial Crash (GFC) of 2008. Political power has been substantially redistributed, politico-ideological contest has re-opened, and the very nature and boundaries of the state itself have been thrown into question due to Brexit-inspired change in the North of Ireland and Britain. Yet despite this unprecedented challenge to their political legitimacy, the traditional hegemons – the ancien regime of Irish politics – have maintained their position at the apex of power. This article posits that such a situation is best understood as a Gramscian interregnum, a period in which an old political order is dying yet remains in situ due to the inability of a new political hegemon to assert itself. Drawing on Gramsci’s original work and recently re-popularised interpretations of the interregnum as a tool for understanding political crises, the article traces the contours of the ongoing battle for hegemony in the Irish state.