The fourth factor is involvement by the country of origin itself. The leaders of the national liberation organizations in Dublin and Belfast have always had close ties with the leaders of Irish community organizations throughout America. Ireland’s interest in the formation of a political elite and influential lobbying organizations in Washington can be explained in several ways. Firstly, Dublin realized very quickly that in time of need, the country can trust only its patriots around the world. Secondly, encouraging investments from overseas compatriots was essential for the country’s economic security, which is directly connected with its political independence. Of course, Dublin and the Irish community faced serious differences on many issues. However, all their problems were put aside when it came to the security and survival of the nation.

The Irish TPN in Action

The Irish factor was taken into account by the U.S. authorities during the war for independence in Ireland in 1919–21. Irish American newspapers compared the republican movement in Dublin with the American people’s struggle for independence. Particular attention was paid to the fact that both Irish and Americans suffered under the British yoke for decades. Moreover, Eamon de Valera, the father of Irish independence, was born and raised in New York, and was regarded by the American public as the Irish George Washington. The influence of Irish interest groups was essential even at that time. Law-enforcement institutions in the United States did not stop rich Irish clans from directing finance and weapons to the Sinn Féin movement. Influential Congressmen of Irish origin—Charles Curtis, Duncan Fletcher, John McCormack and David I. Walsh—urged the White House to support the Ireland’s independence. Numerous protests in London only increased the influence of a pro-Irish lobby that required the president to condemn Britain’s intervention in the affairs of the American people.

After America’s recognition of Irish independence, a new stage in the establishment of bilateral relations began. Not only did such organizations as the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Sons of Ireland aim to bind Dublin to Washington, but they also sought to insert an Irish element into the U.S.-British relations. Since 1921, the Democratic Party has served as a conductor of pro-Irish interests. It has been funded by such influential Irish clans as the Kennedys, the Thompsons, the Gordons, the Fords and others. Consistent work together with the Democrats, carried out in the framework of a cross-lobbying strategy, led to greater success. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became the U.S. president, he appointed Joseph Kennedy an ambassador to the UK, which was negatively perceived among the British public. British newspapers reported that Roosevelt insulted London by sending an Irishman who financed and armed the fighters of Sinn Féin.

By the end of the fifties, Irish Americans had reached the peak of their power. More than fifty legislators of Irish descent served in the Eighty-Second, Eighty-Third and Eighty-Fourth Congresses—constituting 25 percent of the total number of congressmen from the Democratic Party. The victory of John F. Kennedy, elected president of the United States in 1960, was the community’s greatest success. It was the only case in American history when an Irish Catholic was elected the leader of Protestant America. During his historic visit to Dublin, Kennedy gave a speech in which he recalled, “Franklin sent leaflets to Irish freedom fighters. O’Connell was influenced by Washington, and Emmet influenced Lincoln. Irish volunteers played so predominant a role in the American army that Lord Mountjoy lamented in the British Parliament that ‘we have lost America through the Irish.’”

The clan system is still a key element of the Irish TPN. The duties of each family are strictly divided: some finance politicians, others are involved in investment projects for Ireland and still others are responsible for the education of new generations. During the conflict in Belfast during the 1990s, members of the Irish TPN stepped up again to defend their fellow Catholics. Influential politicians of Irish origin—Edward Kennedy, Joe Biden, John Kerry, Bruce Morrison and Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill—launched an extensive lobbying campaign against the actions of the British government.

At the same time, magazines and newspapers under Irish influence wrote about the unjustified violence of London and the pro-British Ulster Workers’ Council. Hollywood shot numerous films with world-famous actors, with main roles given to Irish American celebrities like Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt (starring in The Devil’s Own), Mickey Rourke (A Prayer for the Dying) and Daniel Day-Lewis (In the Name of the Father). The main objective of these films was to show the Irish Republican Army (IRA) as patriots and fighters for Irish freedom who were pursued by the British authorities.

The mechanisms of TPN influence led to active U.S. involvement in the conflict. Washington’s political sympathies were with the Irish. The heads of leading pro-Irish companies managed to convince the White House that supporting their plan of resolving the conflict would give the United States a good opportunity to influence British policy, thus avoiding a large civil war in the future. Acting on three fronts—the lobby, Dublin and the Catholic Church—let the leadership of the organization Friends of Ireland persuade President Bill Clinton to finance the International Fund for Ireland and issue a U.S. visa for IRA leader Gerry Adams, though that was at odds with the recommendations of the State Department and the CIA. Clinton’s private participation in resolving the conflict reduced the degree of the conflict and narrowed London’s ability to act decisively in Belfast.

The example of the Irish transnational political nation leads to the conclusion that small countries can build a TPN out of well-organized community structures in great-power nations. Jews also went a long way to form the necessary TPN institutions in Europe and the United States. The Armenian and Greek communities also had good chances of doing so, but they could not convert their potential into a political resource. Today a Polish TPN is actively being formed in Europe, America and Canada. The main condition for success is the need to preserve subjectivity at least partly, which would allow creating expatriates’ own goals and influence political decisionmaking. Otherwise, the community will become an object in the hands of the country of residence and of different interest groups.

It is important to bear in mind that a TPN is not created in order to transform a great power into an equal ally. Regardless of the opportunities that the Irish or the Jews may have, the United States, being a great global power, will always have many interests around the world. The purpose of a TPN is to reach a situation in which a great power, taking into account the interests of a small country, does not undertake actions that can harm that state and nation. In case this state and people are threatened by another figure, the challenge facing a TPN is to attract the country of residence to protect the country of origin.

Areg Galstyan, PhD, is a regular contributor to Russia in Global Affairs and Forbes.

Image: The water in the fountain on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington DC, dyed green for Saint Patrick's Day. Wikimedia Commons/The White House