Ulsterisation of English politics

Updated: 2025.09.21 30D ago 4 sources
Aris Roussinos argues England is developing a Northern Ireland–style 'siege mentality' in which loyalty to the state becomes conditional on it defending majority ethnic interests (e.g., border control). This reframes rising English nationalism not as a transient mood but as a structural shift in how legitimacy is granted to the state. — If English politics is 'Ulsterising,' party strategies, policing, and constitutional norms may realign around ethnic security claims rather than traditional left–right economics.

Sources

Is the West Gestating Civil Unrest?
Jacob Howland 2025.09.21 66% relevant
Betz’s thesis that formerly dominant majorities believe elites oppose their interests and have closed peaceful avenues mirrors the 'siege mentality' framing—state legitimacy becoming conditional on defending majority identity, a dynamic the article extends across Western polities.
If you’re not in the meetings, you can’t accurately estimate the relative levels of dishonesty and self-delusion involved
Isegoria 2025.08.27 72% relevant
The piece forecasts growing white‑English nationalist mobilization and potential communal violence, aligning with the argument that English politics is shifting toward a siege mentality centered on ethnic security.
Good news. The Overton Window is moving and we are helping move it.
Matt Goodwin 2025.08.25 65% relevant
Reform UK’s proposal to criminalize illegal entry, build detention centers, and leave the ECHR/HRA reflects a politics centered on majority security claims and hard boundaries—an Overton shift toward a 'siege mentality' logic in English politics.
July Diary
Ben Sixsmith 2025.07.31 100% relevant
The article quotes Roussinos: 'Is it going too far to declare a creeping Ulsterisation of English politics?... it now appears that they have.'
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