Suchergebnisse

This text explores the issues behind the longevity of the conflict in Northern Ireland and provides a detailed analysis of the attempts to create a lasting peace in the province.

THE STRAIGHTFORWARD SOLUTIONS TO THE NORTHERN IRELAND PROBLEM - A UNITED IRELAND OR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE STATUS QUO, WHETHER BY CONTINUING DIRECT RULE OR SETTING UP A NEW DEVOLVED ADMINISTRATION - ARE BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT ONE OR OTHER OF THE TWO COMMUNITIES CAN BE PERSUADED OR COERCED INTO ABANDONING ITS HISTORIC IDENTITY AND ALLEGIANCE. BUT IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE BOTH COMMUNITIES HAVE SHOWN THEMSELVES TO BE SO RESILIENT IN MAINTAINING THEIR SEPARATE IDENTITIES THAT THE PROBLEM IS SO INTRACTABLE. BOTH IN BRITAIN AND IN IRELAND INCREASING ATTENTION IS NOW BEING PAID TO A FRAMEWORK WITHIN WHICH THE RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OF BOTH COMMUNITIES CAN BE PRESERVED. THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE ANGLO-IRISH AGREEMENT - A DOCUMENT SIGNED BY THE BRITISH AND IRISH GOVERNMENTS IN NOVEMBER 1985 IN AN ATTEMPT TO FORMALIZE IMPLEMENTATION OF AMICABLE GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS.

The Northern Ireland conflict has its roots in the failure of the British state-building project to consolidate the territorial gains of colonization in Ireland. A decade of intense political activity in the early 20th century, a failed armed rebellion in 1916 and a guerrilla war by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in 1918–21 led to the establishment of an independent Irish state. The British Government, after a bitter but ultimately failed attempt at counter-insurgency, withdrew its forces from most of Ireland, but the price to be paid was partition. The particular circumstances of the settler plantations from the 17th century onwards had led to well-organized opposition in the north-east to Irish independence, and these supporters of union with Britain were termed 'unionists'. They had a sufficiently strong alliance with elements of the British political establishment to persuade the British Government to adopt a policy of partition, even after they had failed to defeat the wider challenge of Irish nationalism.

Argues that Northern Ireland exemplifies defects in civic nationalist thinking. The conflict in Northern Ireland is said to represent rivalry between Irish & British inclusionary projects rather than a struggle between exclusionary projects. A description of civic nationalism & civic unionist positions notes that nationalism focuses on construction of an Irish civic nation capable of transcending rival sectarian identities while unionism has traditionally called for Northern Ireland's political integration with the rest of the UK. Unionists have recently abandoned their exclusionary attitude to stress the accommodation of Catholicism & the Irish culture. The long stalemate between the two projects is explored, along with the movement of powerful actors on both sides toward a bi-national compromise, making the idea of a settlement possible. Problems that can result from a civic nationalist approach to conflict resolution in divided societies are pointed out, noting that the choice is often between two projects that both claim to be civic. It is concluded that civic nationalism is incompatible with the solid institutional recognition that national minorities desire. 35 References. J. Lindroth