“What’s There to Fear?”—A Comparative Study of Responses to the Out‐Group in Mixed and Segregated Areas of Belfast

Abstract

Despite some significant political developments and the advent of paramilitary cease‐fires, Northern Ireland remains a deeply divided society characterized by high levels of residential segregation. Although a causal link between segregation and intercommunity conflict has not been established, a wealth of research data points to the benefits of intercommunity contact in divided societies. Drawing on theoretical literature from social psychology, this paper explores responses to the out‐group in ethnically mixed and segregated Belfast communities. It concludes that the opportunity presented for intergroup contact in the mixed community seems to have, at the very least, an ameliorating effect on the fear and sense of threat posed by the out‐group.