The Persistence of the `Old' Idea of Culture and the Peace Process in Ireland

Abstract

■ This article is less concerned with the weaknesses of the old anthropological idea of culture than with how and why, despite these weaknesses, it has retained such influence with the liberal state. It approaches these questions using a case study in the management of conflict: the peace process in Ireland and the agreement reached ten years ago on Good Friday 1998. According to some, the model on which the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is based — usually referred to as consociational — has become the default position of the international community when it comes to the management of conflict. In line with consociational principles, the GFA accords cultural rights to two specific communities — something that is at odds with the traditional liberal idea that rights accrue to individuals. Focusing on several key debates, the article traces the influence of ideas about culture and identity on the peace process. Crucial here is that the `old' idea of culture justifies a conflation of individual and collective, communal identity such that the former is understood as dependent on the latter. The respect that liberalism traditionally accords to the individual is thereby extended to the group of which s/he is a member. Finally, considering the role of anthropologists in the Irish case, the article concludes by querying what it is that is specifically anthropological about the old idea.