Building Peace In Northern Ireland

Since the troubles began in the late 1960s, people in Northern Ireland have been working together to bring about a peaceful end to the conflict. Building Peace in Northern Irelandexamines the different forms of peace and reconciliation work that have taken place. Maria Power has brought together an international group of scholars to examine initiatives such as integrated education, faith-based peace building, cross-border cooperation, and women's activism, as well as the impact that government policy and European funding have had upon the development of peace and reconciliation organizations.

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.

This book examines the role of economic aid in the management and resolution of protracted ethnic conflicts, focusing on the case study of Northern Ireland. The book describes the results of a study of the role of economic aid within Northern Ireland, through the viewpoints of citizens collected in an opinion poll as well as community group leaders whose projects received funding, funding-agency civil servants and development officers. The study explains the importance of economic and social development in promoting cross-community contact as well as within single-identity communities, and the need for a multitrack intervention approach to transform the conflict in Northern Ireland. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of how economic assistance impacts on a divided society with a history of protracted violence and provides important perspectives on the "peace through development" idea. One of the key unanswered questions relating to economic aid and preventing future violence is that of the significance of external economic aid in building peace after violence. By examining the respondents’ political imagery, this book expands on existing work on economic aid and peace building in other societies coming out of violence. Northern Ireland’s changing social-economic and political context reflects the fact that economic aid and sustainable economic development is a cornerstone of the peacebuilding process. The goal of the book is to provide a foundational knowledge base for students and practitioners about the role of economic aid in building the peace dividend in post-accord societies. The book will be of great interest to students of conflict resolution, peacebuilding, Irish politics, peace and conflict studies, and politics and IR in general.

This book examines the economic and political contributions of the EU to the Northern Ireland peace process, tracing the genesis of EU involvement since 1979 and analysing how it acted as an arena in which to foster dialogue and positive cooperation. Based on extensive archival research and exclusive elite interviews this volume provides the first comprehensive study of how the EU contributed to the reconfiguration of Northern Ireland from a site of conflict to a site of conflict amelioration and peace-building. The book demonstrates that the relationship between Northern Ireland and the EU has been much more significant in the peace process than previously suggested.

Political accommodation in Northern Ireland, Israel and South Africa at the macro level may not, by itself, be sufficient to achieve the long-term goals of building peace and reconciliation. This book uses Lederach's peace-building model to explore issues which may provide a basis for transformation and a lasting peace in the three countries.

This book incorporates recent research that emphasizes the need for civil society and a grassroots approach to peacebuilding while taking into account a variety of perspectives, including neoconservatism and revolutionary analysis. The contributions, which include the reflections of those involved in the negotiation and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, also provide policy prescriptions for modern conflicts.

Religion is traditionally portrayed as nothing but trouble in Ireland, but the churches played a key role in Northern Ireland's peace process. This study challenges many existing assumptions about the peace process, drawing on four years of interviewing with those involved, including church leaders, politicians, and paramilitary members.

Exploring the conflict management trajectories of Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka, this book engages in a discussion that highlights the importance of ‘decolonising’ approaches to peacebuilding and conflict management in deeply divided societies. Existing knowledge on the topic is largely produced in the Western academy, using global North-centric approaches. This book, written by a researcher from the global South who navigates the political life of a deeply divided society in Western Europe, begins a conversation on a new, 21st century re-conceptualization of ethno-national conflict in deeply divided societies, based on a paradigm of decolonising. This book will appeal to policymakers and practitioners in peacebuilding and related areas worldwide, and students of peace and conflict studies, as well as a general readership with an interest in decolonial approaches to world politics.