This is a well-written and thought-provoking article that clearly establishes the tremendous economic benefits that could accrue from greater education research, innovation and economic integration between the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. It rightly points out differences that have arisen between the jurisdictions, with the much larger pharma sector in Ireland dominated by US multinationals in contrast to the situation in Northern Irish Studies in International Affairs, Vol. 32, Issue 2, 652–655, Analysing and Researching Ireland, North and South is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 4.0 International License. https://doi.org/10.3318/isia.2021.32b.55 *Read Chris van Egeraat and Declan Curran’s article, ‘Pulpit to Public: Church Leaders on a Post-Brexit Island’, https://doi.org/10.3318/isia.2021.32b.49 Diamond—The Wealthiest Region in These Islands? 653 Ireland, wherein the sector is dominated by small number of ‘home-grown’ companies such as Randox, Almac and Norbrook—all founded by highly driven and visionary individuals. The conclusions are validated through reference to extensive literature on the negative impacts of borders on many regions worldwide, based on the use of a ‘typology of proximities’, and while the case study is focused on the pharma sector, the arguments apply generically across all market sectors. These ‘proximities’ are a useful vehicle for exploring commonalities and identifying barriers that need to be addressed if cross-border cooperation in business and innovation is to be enhanced. The analysis rightly concludes that ‘geographical’ (location) and ‘cognitive’ (knowledge base) proximities are not significant limiting factors, and while there are ‘organisational’ and ‘institutional’ barriers, ‘it is a lack of social proximity that has proven to be a persistent barrier to the development of a cross-border pharmaceutical ecosystem’. Unfortunately, the article does not really go into this central issue in depth, perhaps because the causes and solutions lie more in the realm of politics and social division than in economic theory. Borders are politically contentious, with discontented minorities often ‘trapped’ on either side. This discontent can be reduced by recognising rights of peoples of differing religions and cultures within a jurisdiction, seeking ways to foster positive cross-­ community engagement, and reducing the physical impact of borders through free movement of people and goods. Unfortunately, the local political culture in Northern Ireland continues to focus on maintaining divisions, with unionists focused only on links within the UK and nationalists prioritising links within the island of Ireland. Unionists have dominated policy up to now and, as they see stronger cross-border economic activity as a threat, it is not surprising that a culture of limited cross-border cooperation at institutional and organisational level exists. However, in the realms of research, innovation and entrepreneurship, openness is essential to underpin competitiveness and maximise the chances of success. Set against a background of rising political tensions in Northern Ireland, and its associated community polarisation, there is a need for a vision that can unify people across Northern Ireland in pursuit of a common goal to challenge the politics of division. This could be framed around a vision statement like ‘In 20 years, Northern Ireland will be the wealthiest region in these islands.’ On the one hand, this vision could be criticised as completely unrealistic, but on the other, it does provide a driving force for new strategies and policies —and if people generally adopt it as a central tenet for judging political 654 Irish Studies in International Affairs decision-making, it could force the politicians to ensure their policies are aligned with this unifying goal.