Editorial

This editorial introduces volume 33 of Irish Studies in International Affairs, framed against an emerging “polycrisis” marked by pandemic aftershocks, Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine, intensifying great‑power rivalry, energy insecurity, climate emergency and inflationary pressures.

It situates the 2022 annual conference theme, “Global Power Shifts: Connectivity, Cooperation and Conflict,” within these overlapping crises and highlights Ireland’s continued commitment to multilateralism through the EU and UN, despite the resurgence of realpolitik and unilateralism.

The editorial surveys contributions that engage with debates on US–China competition, neorealism and neoclassical realism, American grand strategy, the Indo‑Pacific Economic Framework, small‑state resilience, and hybrid warfare, alongside studies of Kashmiri self‑determination narratives, post‑conflict urban space in East Belfast, and the politics of an all‑Ireland football association.

It further summarises analyses of Mediterranean search‑and‑rescue operations, Ireland’s wartime internal security policy, its contemporary foreign relations and UN Security Council term, and trends in Irish development assistance. Overall, the editorial underscores the need for renewed global cooperation, nuanced theoretical tools and empirically grounded research to understand and navigate shifting power structures in an increasingly complex international order