1922: The Birth of Irish Democracy

Garvin (politics, U. College, Dublin) examines the birth of the Irish state in the context of European history and the vicious civil war that was raging between internal factions at the time. Arguing that the conflict was over whether the Irish should be ruled by a popular majority or a virtuous but unaccountable minority, he says radical Republicanism was never widely popular and that the Irish succeeded in instituting a moderate and realistic regime under mainstream nationalists. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.