Walking the Extra Mile: Corporate Contributions to the Peace Process in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Northern Ireland has undergone a successful peace process after nearly 30 years of violent conflict. The people in Northern Ireland today live in the most peaceful times since the beginning of the Troubles in the late 1960s. Hand in hand with the peace process was a significant upswing in the Northern Irish economy. Many companies from within the UK and from overseas made enormous investments in Northern Ireland. While there is no doubt that the peace process was a precondition for business to flourish, does this nexus also work the other way around? What did business contribute to peace in Northern Ireland? The Northern Irish business community recognized the link between the violent conflict and the weak economic situation at the beginning of the 1990s and became actively involved in promoting the peace process. In 1994, the Northern Irish department of the Confederation of British Industry published a paper, ‘Peace — A Challenging New Era’, that contained a strong economic rationale for peace in Northern Ireland. The paper outlined that the cessation of violence would have a very positive impact on the Northern Irish economy, that is, a ‘peace dividend’ (Confederation of British Industry-Northern Ireland 1994). In 1996, when the peace process was about to collapse, major business organizations formed the Group of Seven to collectively advocate for peace and a revitalization of the peace talks.