Politics And Peace In Northern Ireland

Focuses on the decade since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998. This book delineates the key stumbling blocks in peace and political processes and examines in detail just how the conversion from terrorism to democratic politics is managed in post-conflict Northern Ireland.

Essential text for a 1 term/semester undergraduate course on Northern Ireland (usually a 2nd year option). Combines coverage of the historical context of the situation in Northern Ireland with a thorough examination of the contemporary political situation and the peace process. The book explores the issues behind the longevity of the conflict and provides a detailed analysis of the attempts to create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

This provides an introduction to the politics and recent history of Northern Ireland. It probes the underlying realities of war and peace to address such key issues as: Why did 'the troubles' erupt in the late 1960s and why did the intercommunal violence escalate and continue so long?; Why did the first 'peace process' in 1972-74 fail and why has the current one, despite frequent crises, make more progress?; Why did the Irish government lobby against a British withdrawal in the 1970s?; Why did the government of Margaret Thatcher, a unionist and hardliner on security, sign the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985 and engage in secret contacts with the IRA?; Has British security policy been biased against the nationalist community?; Is a united Ireland likely or inevitable? It is crucial to understand the interplay of the 'physical' struggle with the accompanying ideological 'propaganda war' in Northern Ireland. The 'demonisation' of enemies in the propaganda conflict resulted in a growing discrepancy between the publics rhetoric of politicians and underlying, and sometimes privately acknowledged, 'realities'. A growing realisation among each of the rival parties, governments and paramilitary groups, of their limited power to achieve their goals laid a basis for a search for common ground. A consequence of this has been the need for them to de-escalate the propaganda war and educate their respective constituencies of the need to make hard compromises. This book's account of the 'peace process' since 1994 systematically assesses their attempt to do so, revealing both the constraints and the opportunities in their attempts to build a stable peaceful settlement. -- Publisher description

Many important lessons have come out of the negotiations for the Belfast Agreement. This book explains how public opinion polls were used in support of the Northern Ireland peace process. Significantly, it was the politicians who decided the questions so that they could map out areas of compromise and common ground that their supporters would accept. This book explains how the work was done so that others can apply the benefits of this experience to their own peace building activities.

Examines the Agreement and its implementation through the eyes of the four major parties - The Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP, Sinn Fein and the DUP - and considers the role of smaller parties in the region. Each interpreted the Agreement in different ways and continued to use the situation to pursue their own distinctive goals and aims.

“Performing the Northern Ireland Peace Process offers a nuanced and stimulating analysis which goes beyond standard explanations by exploring the motives and means used by those who made peace in Northern Ireland.” (Professor Timothy White, Xavier University, USA) “Paul Dixon has produced an impressive and challenging book. Dixon defends the Northern Ireland peace process as a carefully-crafted, drawn-out episode in realist, pragmatic politics. However, he pulls few punches in highlighting the moral deceptions which have kept the process in play. Provocatively, Dixon also challenges a wide range of academic interpretations of the processes and their associated political prescriptions. Thoughtful and well-researched throughout, Performing the Northern Ireland Peace Process is an essential read for anyone interested in conflict management.” (Professor Jon Tonge, University of Liverpool) “In this outstanding book, Dixon shows yet again the importance of the theatrical metaphor for Northern Ireland. More importantly still, he demonstrates that the adoption of a critically realist outlook actually enhances our capacity to think creatively about the political choices we face in international politics and the alternative policies and institutions we might construct.” (Professor Adrian Little, The University of Melbourne) This book is exceptional in defending the ‘dirty politics’ of the Northern Ireland peace process. Political actors in Britain, Ireland and the United States performed the peace process and used ‘political skills’, often including deception and hypocrisy, in order to wind down the conflict and achieve accommodation. These political skills, it is argued, are often morally justifiable even as they are popularly condemned. The Northern Ireland peace process has been highly successful in reducing violence and an accurate understanding of its politics is an important contribution to international debates about managing conflict.

The book is part of a wider study of the management of contemporary peace processes and has a strong comparative theme. It draws heavily on interviews with key players (politicians and policymakers) in the peace process. Darby and Mac Ginty identify six key strands in the Northern Ireland peace process and assess how factors in each facilitated or obstructed political movement. Chapters are devoted to political change, violence and security, economic factors, external influences, popular responses, and the role of images and symbols.

First published in 1997, this volume responded to the peace process of the 1980s and 1990s between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, emerging just prior to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It constituted one of the first major academic examinations of the attempts to bring peace to Northern Ireland in the 1990’s, and explores the historical origins of the process, before moving towards a critical account of the role of political parties in the development of the peace process. Critics have argued equally that the process was a sham, tactically repositioning Irish republicanism, and that it provided a framework for reconciliation or even conflict resolution. This book outlines the political changes which allowed the peace process to develop, along with analysing specific themes divided into three broad sections: the general aims of the peace process, the political perspectives and the issues under discussion. Aiming to promote discussion, these contributors explore the origins and function of the peace process, followed by an analysis of political perspectives including the Unionists, the SDLP and Irish Republicanism. Finally, they consider key issues of interest for the peace process, including the ever-present border debate, security strategies, education, and economics, whilst Rachel Ward makes the case for the skilled contributions of women available to formal politics.

Hume recounts the struggle for the nationalist community's rights and presents a blueprint for peace.

In this book, one of the leading authorities on contemporary Northern Ireland politics provides an original, sophisticated and innovative examination of the post-Belfast agreement political landscape. Written in a fluid, witty and accessible style, this book explores: how the Belfast Agreement has changed the politics of Northern Ireland whether the peace process is still valid the problems caused by the language of politics in Northern Ireland the conditions necessary to secure political stability the inability of unionists and republicans to share the same political discourse the insights that political theory can offer to Northern Irish politics the future of key political parties and institutions.