The Northern Ireland peace process: ending the troubles?

Abstract

'The Northern Ireland Peace Process' traces the genesis and evolution of the Irish Peace Process. It is the first book that has had access to all the relevant documentation, much of it not yet in the public domain. Thomas Hennessy argues that the Peace Process was the merging of two quite separate streams. First, there were inter-party talks which involved the British and Irish governments and the constitutional parties in Northern Ireland. Second, there was the internationalist dialogue, initiated by John Hume, which gradually moved republicans away from violence towards the political arena. The Belfast agreement was a junction of these two processes, attempting a compromise between the centre of unionist and national politics. 'The Northern Peace Process' begins with a short survey of the period from 1920 to 1986. Part two looks at the years following the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, when unionists were in turmoil. Parts three and four deal with the endgame from 1990 to 2000, including political developments since the Belfast Agreement. Other books by Thomas Hennessey A History of Northern Ireland 1920-1996.