Northern Ireland: The Politics of a Divided Society

After nearly 30 years of politically inspired violence Northern Ireland is now apparently, ?at peace?. Whether or not that ?peace? endures is not the immediate concern of this module. Rather it seeks to understand why, in the first instance there was such a prolonged period of virtual war; secondly what, if anything, has changed to the extent that those who had initially pursued a campaign which had as its objective the utter destruction of the state actually arrived at a point where they agreed not only to end their war, but also to become part of the actual government of the state? This will involve considering the varying claims made both by opponents of the state (as well as by those who sought to counter that campaign and to defend the state), and attempting to locate their conflict within an analytical paradigm that helps us understand the motivations of both ? that of ethnic conflict. In that context it considers the origins of the state, the issues that divided its people and brought them to a state of virtual war, and the new, consociational form of 'shared governance' which lies at the heart of the Belfast Agreement, the anchor document which underpins its current representative and governmental structures.
Min./max. no. of students: No restrictions apply.
Teaching and learning methods: Series of lectures
Methods of assessment and examination: The module will be assessed by means of a two hour examination at the end of term.
Core text: Assigned readings.