Politics of Northern Ireland

Joanne McEvoy is a Research Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Aberdeen.

• Introduction; 1. Theoretical Perspectives on the Northern Ireland Conflict; (i) The Ethno-National Conflict; (ii) The Concept of Identity in Northern Ireland; (iii) Marxist Accounts; (iv) The Colonial Interpretation; (v) Consociational Theory; 2. Background to the Conflict; (i) The Historical Context; (ii) Home Rule and Partition; (iii) The Stormont Regime; (iv) The Civil Rights Movement; (v) Onset of 'the Troubles'; (vi) Communal Divisions; 3. Parties and Paramilitaries; (i) Ulster Unionist Party; (ii) Democratic Unionist Party; (iii) Social Democratic and Labour Party; (iv) Sinn Féin; (v) Alliance Party of Northern Ireland; (vi) Progressive Unionist Party; (vii) Republican Paramilitaries; (viii) Loyalist Paramilitaries; 4. Finding a Solution: from Sunningdale to the Framework Documents; (i) Introduction of Direct Rule; (ii) Sunningdale Agreement and Executive, 1973-4; (iii) Rolling Devolution, 1982; (iv) Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985; (v) Brooke-Mayhew Talks, 1991-2; (vi) Downing Street Declaration, 1993; (vii) Framework Documents, 1995; 5. British and Irish Government Policy; (i) The British Government: cause of the conflict or neutral arbiter?; (ii) The British Government and Republicanism; (iii) The British Government and Unionism; (iv) The Irish Government: the irredentism claim; (v) The 'Pan-Nationalist Front'; (vi) The Irish Government and Unionism; (vii) British and Irish Convergence; 6. Peace Process to Good Friday Agreement; (i) From Negotiations to a Deal; (ii) The Good Friday Agreement: a 'historic' deal; (iii) Support for the Agreement; (iv) Opposition to the Agreement; 7. The Institutional Framework of the Agreement; (i) Strand One: The Northern Ireland Assembly; (ii) Strand One: The Northern Ireland Executive; (iii) Strand Two: North-South Cooperation; (iv) Strand Three: East-West Relations; (v) The Decommissioning Stalemate; (vi) Police Reform; 8. Towards Restored Devolution; (i) Devolution in the UK; (ii) Suspension and Stalemate; (iii) Revie

I have just finished reading my copy of The Politics of Northern Ireland. It is wonderful! I have been waiting for this book for at least ten years! In my courses on Northern Ireland's history and politics, I have always had to gather snippets and chunks from a plethora of scholarly works as a substitute for a text--now, I will never have to do that again. Your book will become the basic text for all of my Northern Ireland courses. Thank you, thank you so much! -- Thomas C. Schunk, SUNY Empire State College A current, impartial look at the contemporary political scene is a welcome addition to the literature. As with much of EUP's Politics Study Guides it will appeal to general readers with an interest in the subject as well as students. Times Higher Education I have just finished reading my copy of The Politics of Northern Ireland. It is wonderful! I have been waiting for this book for at least ten years! In my courses on Northern Ireland's history and politics, I have always had to gather snippets and chunks from a plethora of scholarly works as a substitute for a text--now, I will never have to do that again. Your book will become the basic text for all of my Northern Ireland courses. Thank you, thank you so much! A current, impartial look at the contemporary political scene is a welcome addition to the literature. As with much of EUP's Politics Study Guides it will appeal to general readers with an interest in the subject as well as students.