Abstract
The Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement of April 1998 is, in essence, a consociational arrangement which sees power shared between elites from two political blocs in Northern Ireland: unionism and nationalism.1 When parties signed the Agreement, in effect they agreed to accept the prospect of two divergent aspirations: Northern Ireland could remain in the United Kingdom, which was what unionist parties wanted, or it could be integrated into a single Republic of Ireland, as sought by nationalist parties. As a consequence, although benefitting from the devolved, stable and carefully balanced governance made possible by consocia-tionalism, Northern Ireland’s peace process is imbued with a sense of underlying lack of resolution. And as a result of this uncertainty, short-term political capital is gained within competing blocs at the expense of long-term social change in the common interest.KeywordsCivil SocietyPlenary SessionPublic ConsultationDeliberative DemocracyPeace ProcessThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
