Journal Article

‘Pushing against an open door’: Reinforcing the neo-liberal policy paradigm in Ireland and the impact of EU intrusion

Dukelow, Fiona

2015

Overview

Neo-liberalism’s resilience since the financial crisis has by now become a common-place observation. In the case of Ireland, however, it might be more apt to speak not just of neo-liberalism’s resilience but its active reinforcement. By re-visiting Hall’s essay on paradigm change and paying particular attention to the adaptive quality of what he calls first and second order paradigm change, and by reading his work against more recent scholarship on the relationship between ideas and power, this article details how Ireland’s response to its crisis has reinforced its dominant neo-liberal policy paradigm. It demonstrates how neo-liberal ideas, despite provoking controversy, remained powerful in domestic debate in the aftermath of the crisis. Moreover it argues that by the time financial support was acquired, EU and IMF actors were, for the most part, ‘pushing against an open door’ with Irish political elites in relation to deficit reduction, how to achieve it and its role in economic recovery. Focusing upon changes to taxation and social protection in particular, the article analyses how the reinforcement of the neo-liberal paradigm is evident in efforts made to limit tax increases, whereas more radical retrenchment and reform of social protection is taking place to ensure its closer compatibility with the perceived needs of a globalised neo-liberal economic paradigm.

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK,Palgrave Macmillan
• Subject: Changes / Comparative Politics / Economic change / Economic crisis / Economic models / Economic recovery / Economic theory / European Politics / Eurozone / Financial support / GDP / Gross Domestic Product / Growth models / Institutionalism / International Relations / Intrusion / Liberalism / Loan agreements / Neoliberalism / Original Article / Paradigms / Political elites / Political Science / Political Science and International Relations / Political Science and International Studies / Protection / Public debt / Public Finance / Reinforcement / Resilience / Role models / Social policy / Social protection / Social reform / Surveillance / Tax increases / Tax reform / Taxation / Welfare state