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what makes us neutral?

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  • 14-11-2016 11:38am
    #1
    Bobthefireman
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 256 ✭✭


    Are we not a member of some groups or what.
    Is there some official way we have declared this ?


Comments

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    #2
    BoJack Horseman
    Registered Users Posts: 12,248 ✭✭✭✭BoJack Horseman


    Bobthefireman wrote: »
    Are we not a member of some groups or what.
    I'm not sure there is any sort of 'Association of neutral nations', but we are not members of such a thing....
    Is there some official way we have declared this ?
    No.

    In a wonderfully Irish way, Ireland is "neutral" once the government of the day says we are.

    'Irish-solution-Irish-problem' kind of thing..


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    #3
    eeguy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,478 ✭✭✭eeguy


    You're neutral when you don't have an existing alliance with either side and don't openly declare for a side when a war breaks out.
    Like Ireland.

    Although neutrality doesn't mean you can't be invaded, like Belgium and the Netherlands.


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    #4
    Seanmk1
    Registered Users Posts: 119 ✭✭Seanmk1


    Bobthefireman wrote: »
    Are we not a member of some groups or what.
    Is there some official way we have declared this ?

    There is a thing called the Non Aligned Movement, but Ireland is not a member.

    We seem to make it up as we go along.


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    #5
    Snickers Man
    Registered Users Posts: 5,301 ✭✭✭Snickers Man


    Neutral in what struggle?

    Neutral is a relative term. You have to identify which power or power blocks you are talking about, the situation that exists between them and how Ireland positions itself relative to the two (or more) entities before you can decide what's really "neutral".

    Certainly we are not a member of NATO and never a member of the Warsaw Pact (RIP) but we are/were very much in the Western sphere of influence.

    As for the emerging alignment of world politics, who knows? Are the Anglosphere (Britain and America essentially) going to pull away from involvement with Europe and adopt a more hostile pose wrt the EU as they "pivot" towards Asia? If so, will we have to consider pulling out of the EU and getting closer to Britain/USA (closer to Boston than Berlin and all that jazz) or will we double down on commitment to Europe and act as a "bastion" on Britain's western flank, thereby requiring us to build up our forces to a much greater degree than hitherto? Or would that cause too much of a "hard border"?

    Possibilities are endless


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    #6
    ancientmariner
    Registered Users Posts: 243 ✭✭ancientmariner


    In the first place our original Neutrality was a riposte to the fact that a NATO member was occupying our country. In time it has weakened in that we are pro interventions approved by UN and Parliament and also go along with EU views on regional assistance such as to Ukraine and interventions in the Mediterranean. We are NOT neutral in Spirit to quote MM.



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