Northern Ireland's fragile peace: how the Troubles paused and mutated since its official “end” in 1998

Sally Browne

doi:10.13169/jglobfaul.6.2.0215

Abstract

Since its formation, Northern Ireland has become a country synonymous with conflict. Political and religious differences have transcended into sectarian violence and warfare, most recently during the Troubles, which has been ongoing since 1969. Official accounts argue that this conflict ended in 1998 with the unionist and nationalist peace process, however this article discredits that assertion and shows that from the perspectives of politics, policing, and victims, this conflict is an outstanding issue in Northern Ireland today. Using secondary data, this paper demonstrates that though policing has evolved in structure, many of its threats, concerns, and roles have changed very little from those apparent during the conflict. The victim perspective argues that the extent of loss and pain will always hold the Troubles open and present and that motivates many in activism, whose political landscape has decayed since 1998. The idea of social identity theory has brought such issues forward and contributed to the understanding seen in this article. The overarching theme of this paper is that the Troubles is held in a paused position for different reasons from each perspective, but that when combined a long-term understanding of the conflict can be harnessed in order to highlight and combat recurring themes of the conflict to aid in bringing an end to such a brutal episode of Northern Ireland's history.

Highlights

1167 marked the beginning of a tempestuous relationship between Ireland’s most notable invaders, England, who enforced Protestantism, displaced Norman and Gaelic citizens, and in 1800, using the Act of Union, consolidated Ireland into Great Britain
Adrian Johnston, head of the International Fund for Ireland, supports this by pointing out that 110 peace walls stand in Northern Ireland presently and there are concerns this is unlikely to change by 2050 (Black, 2015). Both neighborhoods either side of such walls use painted kerbs, flags, paramilitary murals, and slogans to signify their identities, expanding the gap between Catholic republican and Protestant loyalist communities, again increasing the divide caused by sectarian violence, which was an issue during the Troubles (Cronin, 2001; Nolan, 2017)
It can be concluded that whilst elements such as the occupation of the British Army and terrorist incidents on mainland Britain have ended, the conflict has failed to follow suit, as characteristics of the Troubles have spilt through the cracks of the “peace process” and continued to flood Northern Ireland’s society; it would be impossible to conclude that the Troubles ever ended

Summary

Introduction

1167 marked the beginning of a tempestuous relationship between Ireland’s most notable invaders, England (later to include Scotland and Wales when referred to as Britain), who enforced Protestantism, displaced Norman and Gaelic citizens, and in 1800, using the Act of Union, consolidated Ireland into Great Britain Such colonial decisions, and the Great Famine, stirred up anti-English and anti-British feelings amongst Catholic republicans, which sparked asuccessionof notablerebellions, including the 1916 EasterUprising, theWarof Independence, and the Irish Civil War. Despite Britain returning 28 counties of the Irish Isles to an Irish Free State in 1920, thereby partly fulfilling demands of republican Irishmen, there is still debate over the sovereignty of the remaining six counties (often referred to as Ulster) which are currently Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. For republican and loyalist warfare to be eradicated, the polarizing of communities, investigations of deaths, and political stalemate must be addressed

Peace and politics

Identity politics

Findings

Conclusion