ARINS podcast episode 13: Irish Unity: Lessons from Germany?

The Royal Irish Academy

What happens when you merge two distinct legal, administrative and judicial systems with legacy concerns? The reunification of Germany is arguably the closest and most recent example of the systemic complexities faced should referenda on both sides of the Irish border allow for the processes of Irish unification to begin. In this ARINS podcast Tobias Lock and Aoife O’Donoghue discuss the lessons learned from German Unification and how we might best apply them. You can read the article by Tobias Lock, as it appears in Irish Studies in International Affairs, at doi.org/10.1353/isia.2022.0010. Tobias Lock, is Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law School of Law and Criminology Maynooth University. Aoife O’Donoghue is Professor of Law, Queen’s University Belfast. This is episode 13 of a podcast series that provides evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. Host Rory Montgomery, MRIA, talks to authors of articles on topics such as cross border health co-operation; the need to regulate social media in referendums, education, cultural affairs and constitutional questions and the imperative for good data and the need to carry out impartial research. ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South brings together experts to provide evidence-based research and analysis on the most significant questions of policy and public debate facing the island of Ireland, north and south. The project publishes, facilitates and disseminates research on the challenges and opportunities presented to the island in a post-Brexit context, with the intention of contributing to an informed public discourse. More information can be found at www.arinsproject.com. ARINS is a joint project of The Royal Irish Academy, an all-island body, and the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs.