Suchergebnisse

An examination of the communal conflict in Northern Ireland contends that there has been an increasing openness to emancipatory ideas in the peace process. The focus is on how changes in the conditions of conflict have made it possible for many of the political parties to combine emancipatory aims & rhetoric with realist strategies. The Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998 is described as a product of these changes. It offered both an institutional framework for managing conflict & a path for transforming the conditions of conflict by identifying the social & cultural foundations of conflicting interests & identities. An overview of the origins of the Northern Ireland conflict is followed by a look at the underlying causes of the conflict; its evolution over time; & the historical context surrounding the emergence of the Belfast Agreement. It is argued that tensions & contradictions in the current settlement can only be addressed by strengthening emancipatory elements of the process. The potential for an emancipatory approach to build on & sustain the settlement is discussed. J. Lindroth

The implementation of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement has been marked by recurring crises. While each of these has its specific causes, they are symptomatic of contradictions in the underlying conditions of conflict. These made the Belfast Agreement possible, but they also create difficulties in its implementation. The Agreement echoes – not least in its ambiguities – the underlying contradictions, reconstituting the political terrain in terms of them. This has reproduced the tendency toward conflict even among the supporters of the Agreement, whose different responses and ends-in-view reflect the objective uncertainties in the situation. Political crises are likely to continue even after the full implementation of the Agreement.

The implementation of the Belfast or Good Friday Agreement has been marked by recurring crises. While each of these has its specific causes, they are symptomatic of contradictions in the underlying conditions of conflict. These made the Belfast Agreement possible, but they have also created difficulties in its implementation. The Agreement echoes -- not least in its ambiguities -- the underlying contradictions, reconstituting the political terrain in terms of them. This has reproduced the tendency toward conflict even among the supporters of the Agreement, whose different responses & ends-in-view reflect the objective uncertainties in the situation. Political crises are likely to continue even after the full implementation of the Agreement. 2 Figures, 36 References. Adapted from the source document.

Jurgen Habermas's critical theory & recent attempts to apply it to the practical problems of social life are reviewed (eg, Forster, John [Ed], Critical Theory and Public Life, 1985 [see IRPS No. 34/86c00688]), addressing the issue of how to develop theory that meets its own critical standards & is at the same time empirically grounded. The limited use made of empirical findings in the construction of critical theory & the problems of applying it in its present form are outlined. A fully dialectical approach to the building of critical theory & to its application in empirical research is proposed, & the essential elements of such an approach are outlined. AA