Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party from Maastricht to Brexit. An analysis of the factors which influence political parties positions on Europ

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In the wake of the Brexit referendum result, there is a need to analyse why Northern Ireland'spolitical parties behave the way they do with regards to European integration. In the case oftwo parties, Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (the DUP), the Europeanintegration question has become a defining and divisive issue. As I will discuss below, theseparties present irregular positions on Europe compared to their contemporary governingparties abroad and have also struggled to offer a consistent position to their electorate.This thesis will offer an in-depth examination of the factors which have contributed to bothparties relationship with European integration. This will be done through an analysis whichlooks at elements such as the role of party competition, the role of party membership, and therole of the press. It will contribute to our understanding of both of the parties internally andtheir enormous impact on Northern Irish, Irish, and British public discourse. It will alsocontribute to our understanding of how political parties come to form positions on key issues,in particular in relation to European integration.