Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.This dataset comprises the results of a survey of a cross section of the Northern Ireland population. Respondents were asked questions on a range of political attitudes and behaviour. The survey was conducted directly after the Northern Ireland Assembly Election 2016 and asks the following: full voting information as gathered via a mock ballot paper, full set of demographic questions including social class, religion, education, gender and suchlike, battery of political attitude questions on ethnonational, economic and moral themes, question on voting behaviour in the EU referendum, questions on political accountability, ethnic representation, candidate traits and other politically relevant questions. Background information on the Power-Sharing and Voting: Conflict, Accountability and Electoral Behaviour at the 2015 Northern Ireland Assembly Election project: When citizens in Northern Ireland cast their vote in the 2015 Northern Ireland Assembly election, almost two decades had passed since the Good Friday/ Belfast Agreement of 1998 established devolution and power-sharing. Thus, a rigorous analysis of the 2015 Assembly election allows careful consideration of the impact of the 'peace process' and the associated implementation of power-sharing governing structures. The project investigates whether power-sharing has actually led to good quality electoral democracy for the people of Northern Ireland or has instead merely cemented and strengthened ethnic divisions. In the investigation, a number of specific questions are addressed.1) Have the power-sharing institutions maintained or reduced the importance of ethno-national (Protestant British versus Catholic Irish) campaigning and voting at election time? The study compares the strength of ethno-national voting over the 1998-2015 period by linking the 2015 study to earlier ESRC funded studies in 1998 and 2003. The project assesses whether there...