Northern Ireland Peace Process Research Articles

Networks between Ireland and the Irish American Diaspora during the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract This article explores the complex relationship between the network of actors in the United States and Ireland who sought to influence American foreign policy in the Northern Ireland peace process. These networks operated in civil society, representing numerous Irish American organizations linking corporate and church leaders and the media to members of the Irish American diaspora in government to influence the United States’ diplomacy. These Irish American groups and individuals interested in influencing events in Northern Ireland were linked with a wide array of governmental and non-governmental actors in Ireland. Often, Americans were quite deferential to leaders and groups in Ireland and Northern Ireland who sought to mobilize the Irish diaspora in the United States for their cause. Thus, the United States’ role in Ireland and Northern Ireland was not that of a hegemonic power but one of an empathetic actor responding to developments and cues provided by various actors in the Irish context. Transatlantic networking, made more possible due to technological changes in communication and transportation, facilitated increased exchanges of ideas, agents, and information. These networks allowed groups across the Atlantic to elicit support for local groups in Northern Ireland and mobilize the US government to play a political and diplomatic role in the conflict and peace process. Ultimately, the majority of Irish Americans moved from supporting the nationalist/republican side in the early years of the Troubles to becoming strong supporters of the peace process in the 1990s.

THE IMPACT OF BREXIT ON THE PEACE PROCESS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

The article analyzes Brexit as a factor influencing the Good Friday Agreement and the transformation of the peace process in Northern Ireland, as well as the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It is argued that Brexit poses a threat to the security of Ireland and the EU, since it undermines the foundations of the peace process in Northern Ireland and creates the likelihood that the border will be closed on the island of Ireland again. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was based on the fact that both signatory states are members of the EU, and many of its provisions will not be implemented after Brexit. It has been proven that after Brexit, the most controversial issue was the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which became the external border of the EU. The border, which was heavily militarized during the conflict, became virtually invisible after its settlement, and people and goods freely cross it. This became possible largely because both Ireland and the UK were part of the EU single market, a common set of rules that ensures the free movement of goods, services, people and finances within the bloc.It is argued that the new relationship between the EU and the UK, which was agreed during 2020 and implemented from January 2021, resulted in an attempt to resolve the complex border issue, which was carried out in the Northern Ireland Protocol. The arrangements of the Northern Ireland Protocol, according to which Northern Ireland, but not the rest of the UK, remains within the framework of the EU single market for goods, make it possible to maintain an open border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The establishment of an open border was a key aspect of the Northern Ireland peace process and the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended the conflict in Northern Ireland. It is shown that the Northern Ireland Protocol creates a de facto customs border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom. Mainly to address the concerns of the DUP unionists about the Northern Ireland Protocol, in 2022-2023, the EU and the UK agreed on revised mechanisms for its operation – the Windsor Framework, which entered into force on March 24, 2023. The DUP refused to accept the Framework Program as meeting their interests until early 2024. Further adjustments to its work have not been agreed upon and the formation of a new Northern Ireland executive has not begun. It is proved that Brexit is becoming a new and significant factor in the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. Brexit has put the issue of the unification of Ireland at the top of the political agenda of both parts of Ireland. The majority of Northern Irish residents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 UK referendum. Unification would give Northern Ireland, where both British and Irish citizens live, full EU citizenship.

Inclusion in the Northern Ireland Peace Process: A ‘History of the Present’

ABSTRACT This article presents a ‘history of the present’ of the concept of inclusion and how it has been centred in analysis of the Northern Ireland process in recent years. Historical discourse analysis is used to deconstruct how the idea of inclusion as a defining feature of the NI process came to predominance over time. The analysis reveals the existence of different ‘patches’ of peacemaking activity that combined to deliver the agreement. Analysing the ways these different types of mediation were stitched together reveals the bigger picture of the varied role of mediation in NI, with broader lessons on the multi-track/inclusion nexus.

The origins of ‘civil rights and religious liberties’ in the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement

This article traces the origins of the declaration of rights in the human rights and equality section of the 1998 Belfast-Good Friday Agreement, which secured a fragile peace in Northern Ireland. It sets out in detail for the first time the drafting history of the declaration, set against the complex negotiating history of the Agreement as a whole, describing the multiple actors involved in the evolution of the declaration and their motivations, including republican and loyalist paramilitary groups, feminists and civil rights organisations, Irish and British civil servants and political advisors, as well as the political parties. It thus provides a detailed account of the evolution of human rights thinking at a critical stage of the Northern Ireland peace process. The article argues that it is now more important than ever to understand this history. Although originally conceived as merely declaratory, this declaration has, since the European Union–United Kingdom (EU–UK) Withdrawal Agreement following Brexit, taken on a new lease of life due to the Ireland–Northern Ireland Protocol to the EU–UK Withdrawal Agreement, which accorded the declaration of rights a legal status in domestic and international law that it did not have previously. The article concludes with a reflection on the implications of the history recounted in this article for the future interpretation and application of the Protocol (now, the Windsor Framework), and for the study of the historiography of human rights more broadly, emphasising in particular the extent to which the declaration exemplifies a syncretic rather than an eclectic human rights instrument.

Marilynn Richtarik, Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland

Marilynn Richtarik, <i>Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland</i>

Young people with LGB identity and their sense of belonging: Evidence from Northern Ireland – A society emerging from violent social conflict

In 2023 Northern Ireland celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement (GFA) which is regarded as a milestone of the Northern Ireland peace process. Via the 1998 Northern Ireland Act, the peace process saw equality and anti-discrimination legislation being implemented in Northern Ireland that legislates that public authorities must carry out their duties with due regard to equality of opportunity, including between persons of different sexual orientations and gender identities. Using time series data from 2013 to 2023 taken from the annual Young Life and Times (YLT) survey conducted among a randomized sample of 16-year olds in Northern Ireland (N = 15,162), this article explores the extent to which same-sex attracted young women and men express a sense of belonging to, and influence in, their local neighborhoods and Northern Ireland. We argue that the sense of belonging and influence can be used as suitable policy indicators to assess how same-sex attracted young people fare in Northern Ireland, a society emerging from significant violent conflict. The YLT dataset allows us to track, if any change in attitudes can be detected over the last decade. Our analysis shows that there was an increase in the proportion of young people, especially among young women, expressing same-sex attraction. However, our study also indicates that, regardless of gender, LGB 16-year olds consistently felt a lesser sense of belonging and influence than their non-LGB individuals. We found no LGB-specific differences among respondents with different religious affiliations. LGB respondents disproportionately rejected both Protestant and Catholic faiths and community affiliations, unlike their non-LGB counterparts. Our findings are a strong indicator that religion still plays a major part in the relationship between ethno-national communities in Northern Ireland and that there still is a long way to go until LGB young people feel valued and feel that they belong.

Marilynn Richtarik, Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland

Marilynn Richtarik, Getting to Good Friday: Literature and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland

Learning Behind Bars: How IRA Prisoners Shaped the Peace Process in Northern Ireland by Dieter Reinisch (review)

Learning Behind Bars: How IRA Prisoners Shaped the Peace Process in Northern Ireland by Dieter Reinisch (review)

Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Societies: Consociationalism in Wonderland and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Consociationalists have claimed nearly 50 successful cases of conflict management. This article argues that Classic Consociationalism has been constantly revised so that the theory has become ambiguous, incoherent, and even contradictory. Consociationalists have entered Wonderland in the sense that their theory now appears to be anything that they want it to be. Paradoxically, theoretical incoherence has made Consociationalism academically powerful because the theory can be marketed as all things to all people. Consociational theorists have revised their theory to claim a successful Northern Ireland case study and used its academic prestige to advance an anti-unionist political agenda.

Civil Society Organizations, the Good Friday Agreement, and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract A qualitative methodology was used to interview 120 participants from 2010 and 29 participants from 2020 who shared their experiences and perceptions about the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and their peacebuilding work. Longitudinal findings reveal that the participants were critical of the Agreement and the disconnect between politicians and the grassroots as well as recognizing that the Agreement has brought about relative peace in Northern Ireland. While the participants attest to the relative success of the GFA, they also note several criticisms including sectarian politics, new paramilitaries, Brexit, legacy of the past, continuing divisions in Northern Ireland, and the disconnect between politicians and local community peacebuilders. The participants’ criticisms are significant as they attest that while the social peace at the grassroots level is moving forward the political peace is not as evidenced by the recent Unionist backlash against Brexit.

Marginalized Voices and the Good Friday Agreement: Inclusion and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Abstract This article explores building transnational queer and disabilities communities, disability-queer peace, and disability-queer activism in post-peace accord Northern Ireland (NI). Through in-person and virtual interviews with activists, staff, and leaders who are disabled, queer, and/or in allyship, it became clear in the data that respondents were ashamed, frustrated, and sad that ableism and queerphobia continues in NI. Attacks on disabled and LGBTQIA+ people have escalated as a result of the Brexit fallout and the COVID-19 pandemic that negatively impacted marginalized communities that are targeted by legal exclusion, discriminatory, and hateful practices as well as structural and interpersonal violence. Dialogue, diversity, and inclusive practices and policies and a political system that benefits all NI citizens are crucial to building sustainable peace in NI.

The international significance of the Northern Ireland peace process: Revisiting the lessons 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement

This article revisits scholarly, political, and practitioner debates surrounding the international implications of the Northern Ireland peace process: the so-called lessons. It begins by reviewing the literature on the epistemological and political dimensions of comparing conflicts. It identifies three different approaches to learning from peace processes. These are termed analytical-technical, political-strategic, and educative-psychological. The article applies this framework to Northern Ireland, assessing the conduct, potential, and challenges of each approach. The analysis draws on academic and political sources, as well as unique primary research on ‘lesson-sharing’ dialogues. The article discusses how the educative-psychological approach – which has been the dominant mode of lesson learning/sharing in Northern Ireland and is under-researched – demonstrates the potential for local-to-local connections to support ongoing learning within peace processes. Applying the threefold framework to other peace arenas can further advance understanding of the global dissemination of conflict resolution knowledge.

The European Dimension of the 'talks process' in Northern Ireland.

Analysis of efforts to develop peace in Northern Ireland often attributes the foundation of the peace process to the dialogue between the then Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams, and the Social Democratic and Labour Party's (SDLP) former leader, John Hume, in the late 1980s. However, it has been recognized that attempts to forge peace have a longer timeline, involving the interplay of several national and international historical contexts in which the European Community (EC) / European Union (EU) dimension and the role of the EU institutions in restoring peace and reconciliation has been generally neglected. The objective of this article is therefore to examine the European dimension of the Northern Ireland talks process, addressing the whole range of relationships affecting the political stalemate in the years preceding the signing of Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (GFA). Drawing on never-before-seen United Kingdom (UK) government and EC/EU archival documents and semi-structured élite interviews, this article highlights how the original dialogue on power-sharing and devolution in Northern Ireland included a much stronger EU dimension that it is publicly acknowledged. This article constitutes an emblematic case-study on the 'Europeanisation' of British politics in Northern Ireland, with findings uncovering a new and subtle dimension of the EC/EU role in the Northern Ireland peace process.

From the Beltway to Belfast: The Clinton Administration, Sinn Féin, and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

From the Beltway to Belfast: The Clinton Administration, Sinn Féin, and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Choreographed Fan Displays: The Case of Israeli Sports

Choreographed Fan Displays: The Case of Israeli Sports

The Power of Voice: Storytelling as Peacebuilding in Post-Troubles Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland peace process has been long and tumultuous, yet 20 years after the Good Friday Agreement, peace has not become a reality for many Northern Irish citizens. For those who have been excluded from the state and the institution-led peace process, grassroots methods of peacebuilding are needed to create an everyday peace that is owned by and includes all Northern Irish citizens. A narrative approach to peacebuilding is one that addresses many of the challenges to everyday peace following the “Troubles.” By exploring the use and impact of storytelling and narrative on everyday experiences, the narrative approach proves to be a viable tool for elevating and giving ownership of the peace process to marginalized members of Northern Irish society.

SERVING DIVIDED COMMUNITIES: CONSOCIATIONALISM AND THE EXPERIENCES OF PRINCIPALS OF SMALL RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN NORTHERN IRELAND

ABSTRACT Previous studies suggest that small rural schools experience a range of challenges relating to their size, financial difficulties and geographical isolation, as well as potential opportunities relating to their position within their communities. In Northern Ireland, these schools are situated within the comparatively rare context of a religiously divided school system. However, research on these schools in this jurisdiction is scarce. The notion of consociationalism is highlighted as central to an understanding of the prevailing schooling system and the peace process in Northern Ireland as a post-conflict society. Set against this backdrop, the paper reports on a survey of principals of small rural schools in Northern Ireland; the challenges they face and their engagement with the communities they serve. The findings reveal how these small rural primary schools, while encountering many similar challenges to such schools globally, continue to play a central consociational role in serving their respective divided communities. Their relationship with the Church is seen as particularly important. The findings raise important broader questions as to the extent to which the current system of schooling is able to contribute to the building of a more integrated society.

Building Peace in Northern Ireland: Hopes for the Future

Since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, over 2 billion Euros have been poured into Northern Ireland for peacebuilding. This article presents the hopes and experiences of workers in CSOs funded by either or both funds, development officers, and civil servants employed by the funders. They confirm that peacebuilding and reconciliation projects funded by the European Union (EU) Peace and Reconciliation Fund and the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) have positively contributed to the peace process in Northern Ireland. Civil Society Organizational (CSO) projects support peacebuilding, reconciliation, and greater cooperation between the Protestant and Catholic communities. This study explored the perceptions of 120 respondents working with these funders. They indicated that designated peacebuilding funding promotes bridging, needs to be balanced, and is important to building the peace dividend and that local knowledge, practices, and skillsets should be built into the funding process. The politics of post-Brexit Northern Ireland means that understanding how to best fund peacebuilding and reconciliation is critical. At time of writing, tensions have risen.

Credit positive or negative? Credit rating agencies’ framing of Brexit’s implications for the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom, the EU, and the Northern Ireland peace process

ABSTRACT Among Brexit’s implications was its potential to destabilise the Northern Ireland peace process, cast doubt on the future status of the Irish border, and weaken the constitutional integrity of both the UK and the EU. A less publicly visible aspect of Brexit, however, was the weight such implications carried in how international credit rating agencies evaluated the creditworthiness of the EU, the UK, and the other state most affected by the Leave vote, the Republic of Ireland (ROI). A frames analysis of the agencies’ discourse during the withdrawal period, from 2016 to 2020, suggested that their privileging of market perspectives had the effect of shaping but also of limiting their engagement with Brexit’s socio-cultural, identity and political implications for the border and the peace process. In particular, the agencies drew weak discursive links between Brexit as an instance of EU disintegration and its implications for the peace process and for the ROI’s shifting geopolitical relations as a continuing member state. This was further reflected in the agencies’ tendency to underplay socio-cultural, identity and political implications in their discourse on potential future processes of UK and EU disintegration.

‘The Troubles’ and the Peace Process in Northern Ireland in Seamus Heaney’s "The Cure at Troy"

Based on "Philoctetes", the tragic play by Sophocles, the poet Seamus Heaney creates his own version in "The Cure at Troy" to present the political and social problems in Northern Ireland during the period that became known euphemistically as ‘the Troubles’. This paper aims to highlight the significance of Heaney’s play in the final years of the conflict. Heaney uses the classical Greek play to bring to light the plight and suffering of the Northern Irish people as a consequence of the atavistic and sectarian violence between the unionist and nationalist communities. Nevertheless, Heaney also provides possible answers that allow readers to harbour a certain degree of hope towards peace and the future in Northern Ireland.