scholarly journals Sport and Peace-Building in Divided Societies: A Case Study on Colombia and Northern Ireland

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Cardenas
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Northern Irish ◽  
Divided Societies ◽  
Sport For Development ◽  
Peace Programs

In recent years, sport has been acknowledged by a broad range of organisations as a viable tool to promote peace in highly volatile contexts. Acknowledging the complexity and myriad of issues that shape and define the Colombian and Northern Irish struggles, this article explores the use of sport to advance peace-building as seen through the lenses of the personnel involved in designing, supporting and implementing sport-based peace interventions (SDP officials) in both regions. This paper found points of commonality and divergence between Colombia and Northern Ireland showing that the unique conflict dynamics in both cases have played a major role in shaping the perceptions of SDP officials with regards to the peace-building dimension of sport, their role as drivers of change and the structure and content of sport for development and peace programs.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Marc Mulholland
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Active Agent ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
British Government ◽  
Northern Ireland Conflict

Northern Ireland is a case study of civil conflict and peace building. For Catholics, the conflict was essentially about nationality, for Protestants, it was essentially about religion. The Northern Ireland conflict was not simply a matter of two communities facing off, but rather a dispute about how the issues at conflict were to be defined and managed. The British government was a crucial active agent, one which saw itself as above the fray but in so doing was deluded about its own interests, prejudices, and motivations. This new edition incorporates the first two decades of the 21st century, including the Brexit crisis, which has flung Northern Ireland to the forefront of UK-wide political calculations.

scholarly journals The Use and Abuse of Veto Rights in Power-Sharing Systems: Northern Ireland’s Petition of Concern in Comparative Perspective

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 735-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allison McCulloch
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Divided Societies ◽  
Political Incentives ◽  
Institutional Instability ◽  
Primary Means

This article assesses the articulation of vital ethno-national interests and the use and abuse of veto rights in deeply divided societies. In consociational theory, veto rights represent the primary means by which ethnic groups defend their ‘vital interests’, though they are often criticized for rewarding extremism and producing institutional instability. Situating a case study of Northern Ireland in a comparative perspective, I consider two lines of veto practice: liberal vs corporate (i.e. who has veto rights?) and permissive vs restrictive (i.e. to what issue areas do vetoes apply?), to assess what political incentives, if any, they offer for moderation and stability. Drawing from a review of the legislative debates when a veto was enacted and on semi-structured interviews with members of the Northern Ireland Assembly, I argue that a permissive approach, in which groups can determine their own vital interests, can contribute to moderation, peace and stability in divided societies.

scholarly journals The Role of Intra-Group Consensus-Building in Disarming Militant Groups in Northern Ireland

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 232-241
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
Northern Irish ◽  
Armed Struggle ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Faith Leaders ◽  
Building Process ◽  
Militant Groups

This study examines the internal process that led combatant groups in Northern Ireland, focusing on the Loyalist camp, to relinquish armed struggle as a viable strategy to accomplish their political goals. The study focuses on internal dynamics, i.e. intra-group negotiations and consensus-building mechanisms that Loyalist militant organisations employed to switch from violence to non-violence and from confrontation to engagement with their enemies. The paper underlines how the consensus-building process was multi-layered and included a combination of carefully structured internal consultations amongst combatants, together with the crafting and implementation of targeted programs to empower and transform militant organisations and their role within society. The chapter also focuses on the specific roles both ex-prisoners and key faith leaders played in shaping this monumental transformation. Finally, through in-depth case study analysis, the authors examine the main lessons that can be learned from the consensus-building process among Northern Irish Loyalist combatants and discuss its relevance to other intractable conflicts. This paper is based on the chapter "Disarming Militant Groups from Within: Building Support for Peace amongst Combatants in Northern Ireland,” in: Negotiations in Times of Conflict, Sher, G., Kurz, A., (eds.); Tel Aviv: Institute for National Security Studies, forthcoming.

Exerting influence? Responsibility and the public role of archaeology in divided societies

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Horning
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Public Intellectual ◽  
Divided Societies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Public Role

AbstractCan, or should, archaeologists adopt the mantle of the public intellectual and bring archaeology to bear on contemporary issues within divided societies? The line between the archaeologist and the citizen is never clear-cut. How do we balance the recognition that our knowledge and expertise allow us to exert influence with the necessity to act as responsible members of our own societies? I define a public intellectual as one who is not afraid to step outside professional circles and comfort zones and to engage, challenge and comment on issues of broad relevance in the present. Employing Northern Ireland as a case study, I argue that archaeologists have a responsibility to provide leadership and commentary regarding the fraught relationship between past and present.

scholarly journals Peace Building in Northern Ireland: A Role for Civil Society

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Knox
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
Protracted Conflict ◽  
Future Policy

Northern Ireland has witnessed significant political progress with devolution and a power sharing Executive in place since May 2007. These political achievements, however, conceal a highly polarised society characterised by sectarianism and community divisions, the legacy of a protracted conflict. This paper is located in the theoretical discourse between consociationalists who argue that antithetical identities cannot be integrated and advocates of social transformation who support greater cross-community peace-building initiatives through the involvement of civil society. This theoretical debate is taking place in a policy vacuum. The Northern Ireland Executive has abandoned its commitment to the previous (direct rule) administration's A Shared Future policy and is now considering alternatives broadly described as community cohesion, sharing and integration. Using a case study of a Protestant/Catholic interface community, this paper offers empirical evidence of the effectiveness of one social transformation initiative involving community groups in a highly segregated area of West Belfast.

Contentious Rituals

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Blake
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Contentious Politics ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Good Friday ◽  
Political Events ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Interview Survey ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Identity Expression

Why do people participate in controversial symbolic events that drive wedges between groups and occasionally spark violence? This book examines this question through an in-depth case study of Northern Ireland. Protestant organizations perform over 2,500 parades across Northern Ireland each year. Protestants tend to see the parades as festive occasions that celebrate Protestant history and culture. Catholics, however, tend to see them as hateful, intimidating, and triumphalist. As a result, parades have been a major source of conflict in the years since the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. This book examines why, given the often negative consequences, people choose to participate in these parades. Drawing on theories from the study of contentious politics and the study of ritual, the book argues that paraders are more interested in the benefits intrinsic to participation in a communal ritual than the external consequences of their action. The book presents analysis of original quantitative and qualitative data to support this argument and to test it against prominent alternative explanations. Interview, survey, and ethnographic data are also used to explore issues central to parade participation, including identity expression, commemoration, tradition, the pleasures of participation, and communicating a message to outside audiences. The book additionally examines a paradox at the center of parading: while most observers see parades as political events, the participants do not. Altogether, the book offers a new perspective on politics and culture in the aftermath of ethnic violence.

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