Northern Ireland and the Divided World: Post-Agreement Northern Ireland in Comparative Perspective
John McGarry
Abstract
Written by a leading group of scholars in the field, this unique volume examines post‐Agreement Northern Ireland from a comparative perspective. It shatters the myth that Northern Ireland is ‘a place apart’ – its conflict the result of peculiarly local circumstances. The book is divided into two sections. The first includes theoretical chapters that centre on the concepts of consociationalism, social transformation, and integrationism. The second involves the case‐study approach, with Northern Ireland being compared with other divided societies in four continents, including the Aland islands, ... More
Written by a leading group of scholars in the field, this unique volume examines post‐Agreement Northern Ireland from a comparative perspective. It shatters the myth that Northern Ireland is ‘a place apart’ – its conflict the result of peculiarly local circumstances. The book is divided into two sections. The first includes theoretical chapters that centre on the concepts of consociationalism, social transformation, and integrationism. The second involves the case‐study approach, with Northern Ireland being compared with other divided societies in four continents, including the Aland islands, the Basque country, Canada, Cyprus, Corsica, East Timor, Israel/Palestine, Lebanon, Puerto Rico, South Africa, South Tyrol, and Sri Lanka. The collection shows that comparative analysis is essential for understanding the dynamics of Northern Ireland's conflict and ethnic conflict in general. It also shows the value of comparative analysis for conflict management. The contributors offer a wealth of suggestions on how to consolidate or change the landmark Agreement that Northern Ireland's political parties reached in April 1998.
Keywords:
Agreement,
comparative analysis,
conflict management,
consociationalism,
divided societies,
ethnic conflict,
integrationism,
Northern Ireland,
social transformation
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2001 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199244348 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: November 2003 |
DOI:10.1093/0199244340.001.0001 |
