Interpreting Northern Ireland

Relative to its size Northern Ireland is possibly the most heavily researched area on earth; hundreds of books and thousands of articles have been published since the current troubles began in the mid 1960s. John Whyte had been studying Northern Ireland since the mid-1960s. In Interpreting Northern Ireland he provides a badly-needed guide to the mass of literature and comment. In Part I, he surveys the research on the nature and extent of the community divide, examining in turn the religious, economic, political, and psychological aspects of the issue. In Part II he discusses ideological interpretations of the Northern Ireland problem, from unionist and nationalist to Marxist. In the final section of the book he surveys the various solutions that have been proposed and looks critically at what the mass of research has achieved. He suggests that if it has not achieved more it may be because it has sometimes asked the wrong questions.

Northern Ireland has entered a key phase in its troubled political history - truth recovery & dealing with the legacy of the past - yet the lack of academic literature with regard to victims' rights is striking. This book analyses truth recovery as a fundamental aspect of the transition from political violence to peace.

LC number: 2005050067

This work is the first book-length treatment on translation policy. Nearly everywhere in the world, populations are multilingual and mobile; consequently, language policies developed by the authorities must include choices about the use or non-use of translation. This book recognizes that these choices (or the absence thereof) become policies of their own in terms of translation. It builds upon the work of scholars in the fields of translation studies and language planning and policy in order to develop a new theoretical perspective on translation policy. In essence, the book proposes that translation policy can be understood as the management, practice, and beliefs surrounding the use of translation. The book deals with these issues under European and international law and then explores such management, practice, and beliefs in the UK, as a case study. Ultimately, the reader can find a fuller appreciation of both the importance and complexity of translation policy.

The encroachment of globalization and demands for greater regional autonomy have had a profound effect on the way we picture Ireland. This challenging new look at the key of sovereignty asks us how we should think about the identity of a postnationalist' Ireland. Richard Kearney goes to the heart of the conflict over demand for communal identity - traditionally expressed by nationalism, and the demand for a universal model of citizenship - traditionally expressed by republicanism. In so doing, he asks us to question whether the sacrosanct concept of absolute national sovereignty is becoming a luxury ill afforded in the emerging new Europe. Kearney then takes us beyond the political with chapters on the influence of philosophers such as George Berkeley, John Toland and John Tyndall and looks at some of the myths in Irish poetry and nationhood. Postnationalist Ireland provides a recasting of contemporary Irish politics, culture, literature and philosophy and will appeal to students of these subjects and Irish studies in general.

Hopes for a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland have again put the politics of the province under the spotlight. This new text, written by acknowledged experts on Northern Ireland, provides an immediately accessible introduction to the multi-faceted nature of the politics of the region.

This book is concerned with how schoolchildren in Northern Ireland perceive their own and each other's religious traditions, how they perceive the inter-connection of religion and politics and how they perceive 'the other side'. Building mainly on the work of Whyte, Hickey and Bruce, it argues that a consensus about the interpretation of the conflict is emerging. Using Boyle and Hadden's work on 'the choice' between sharing and separation, it develops a theory of 'conflict intractability' based on the idea of 'choice modulation' and the 'opposite religions?' question.

This book provides an account and analysis of policing in Northern Ireland, providing an account and analysis of the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) from the start of 'the troubles' in the 1960s to the early 1990s, through the uneasy peace that followed the 1994 paramilitary ceasefires (1994-1998), and then its transformation into the Police Service of Northern Ireland following the 1999 Patten Report. A major concern is with the reform process, and the way that the RUC has faced and sought to remedy a situation where it faced a chronic legitimacy deficit. Policing Northern Ireland focuses on three key aspects of the police legitimation process: reform measures which are implemented to redress a legitimacy crisis; representational strategies which are invoked to offer positive images of policing; and public responses to these various strategies. Several key questions are asked about the ways in which the RUC has sought to improve its standing amongst nationalists: first, what strategies of reform has the RUC implemented? second, what forms of representation has the RUC employed to promote and portray itself in the positive terms that might secure public support? third, how have nationalists responded to these initiatives? The theoretical framework and analysis developed in the book also highlights general issues relating to the implications of police legitimacy and illegitimacy for social conflict and divisions, and their management and/or resolution, in relation to transitional societies in particular. In doing so it makes a powerful contribution to wider current debates about police legitimacy, police-community relations, community resistance, and conflict resolution.