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Over the past ten years the Irish polity has experienced profound change. The pessimism that had engulfed Irish society during the 1980s has given way to a new found confidence, one that befits its status as an emerging, confident and cosmopolitan European state. This book provides a theoretical examination of this startling turnaround in Ireland and details the developments that have taken place in key areas of public policy over the last decade: civil service reform, the welfare state, environmental policy and rural development.