Politics in the British Isles Politics in the British Isles The British Isles comprise two sovereign states, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, and three dependencies of the British Crown, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. Ireland is a unitary state and a republic. Since 1998, it shares certain common institutions with Northern Ireland, in the United Kingdom, from which it was partitioned in 1921. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy and also a unitary state comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Also since 1998, the United Kingdom has devolved significant domestic powers (though differing in extent) to administrations in Northern
Politics in the British Isles truly integrated enterprises. Pocock proposed the term "Atlantic archipelago" to avoid the contested "British isles". It has since become the commonplace preference of historians to treat British history in just this fashion (e.g. Hugh Kearney's "The British Isles: A History of Four Nations" or Norman Davies "The Isles: A History"). In recent times, Richard Kearney has been an important scholar in this space, through his works for example on a Postnationalist Archipelago. While Kearney's work has been noted by many as important for understanding of modern Irish politics and identity, some have also argued that his approach can be applied