Introduction: Peace and Society in Northern Ireland, 1994-2014
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Transcript of Introduction: Peace and Society in Northern Ireland, 1994-2014
INTRODUCTION: PEACE AND SOCIETY IN NORTHERN
IRELAND, 1994–2014
by Justin Dolan Stover
In 2014, the world will observe the centenary of the start of the
first global war. The Great War had far-reaching international con-
sequences and influenced a variety of successive regional affairs. In
Ireland, it shelved a potential civil war between nationalist and
Unionist paramilitaries and prompted a political truce over the
question of self-government, or Home Rule, for the duration of the
war. However, this issue was not settled in the postwar peace nego-
tiations. As the guns of the giants fell silent, a “war of the pyg-
mies,” of which Winston Churchill spoke, emerged, personified by
localized political, sectarian conflict and paramilitary violence in Ire-
land and what would become the partitioned, self-governed state of
Northern Ireland.
Among other immediate social, political, and economic concerns,
the partition of Ireland entrenched divisive social identities and gener-
ated narratives of abandonment from two distinct communities:
Southern Irish Loyalists within the Irish Free State and nationalist
Catholics in the North. Each group became the victim of political
pragmatism, newly created minorities from what had previously been
a Catholic- and nationalist-dominated Ireland within a broader Protes-
tant United Kingdom. This contrast was more acutely displayed in
Northern Ireland in the decades that followed the creation of the state,
particularly in Belfast and Derry. The creation of a special, Protestant
police force and discriminatory housing and employment practices sus-
tained an atmosphere of tension and communal division between Prot-
estants and Catholics. Campaigns of violence by the Irish Republican
Army, particularly along the border following the Second World War,
threatened to further destabilize the situation. This conflict escalated
in the late 1960s, alongside the number of civilian victims and the
overall presence of the British Army. Collectively termed “the Trou-
bles,” sectarianism, terror, and division remained prominent features
of the Northern Ireland landscape for nearly thirty years.
PEACE & CHANGE, Vol. 39, No. 4, October 2014
© 2014 Peace History Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
439
The announcement of a cease-fire by the Irish Republican Army
in 1994 helped to establish a basis for negotiation on issues of politi-
cal representation, social order, and community relations in Ulster and
between the political centers of Belfast, Dublin, and London. Four
years later, the Good Friday, or Belfast Agreement, established a vari-
ety of protocols to foster peace, many that called for reciprocal recog-
nition of cultural identity among Ulster’s antagonists. As we reflect on
the twenty years now past since the cease-fire, we must ask: What
“progress” has been made? In what ways has peace been fostered and
sustained? What, if anything, has this process changed in the realms
of forgiveness and reconciliation?
The contributors to this special volume offer a variety of insights
in this regard, ranging from case studies of perceived cultural erosion
to theoretical analyses of identity politics. Cultural identity remains at
the heart of their concerns; each suggests reciprocal recognition of
trauma, loss, and perceptions of suffering as vehicles for reconcilia-
tion.
Landon E. Hancock examines how individuals and organizations
in Northern Ireland and elsewhere use and apply historical narratives
to justify their own perceived self-image as well as that of their cul-
tural and political “opponents.” This, Hancock argues, may be identi-
fied as a significant factor that contributed to the outbreak of the
Troubles and a remaining obstacle to enduring peace. More specifi-
cally, Hancock suggests that history may in fact act as a hindrance to
progress as groups vying for cultural dominance of a divided region
tend to act from a defensive position—one that rejects the legitimacy
of cultural rivals, interpreting them as threats rather than as part of
the wider communal framework. Such “narratives of identification”
are indeed generational. Hancock highlights this by providing a micro-
history of chosen trauma, reiterated within Protestant communities of
Northern Ireland since the Irish Rebellion of 1641, an event that wit-
nessed Catholic-directed violence verging on massacre. Defensive, ter-
ritorial behavior, demonstrated through annual marches and daily
Unionist symbolism, reinforce Hancock’s observation that, for many,
there appears to be limited capacity to accommodate both nationalist
and Unionist traditions in portions of Ulster.
John Nagle also explores the use of cultural and political symbols
as potential arbiters of peace, as well as their established roles as insti-
gators of conflict. He does so by examining the political dynamics and
communal mobilization that stemmed from recent protests over the
440 PEACE & CHANGE / October 2014
decision to reduce the number of days the Union flag would fly over
Belfast City Hall and other symbolic buildings. Nagle suggests the flag
issue is representative of a distinct type of conflict among ethnic
groups in deeply divided societies: that of nonrecognition of an oppos-
ing group identity. He posits that through applying the theory of ag-
onism, which seeks to foster mutual recognition of traumatic pasts as
a means of grievance regression and reconciliation, real peace might
be achieved in Northern Ireland. But recognition is simply not enough,
he argues, and a simple, sweeping amnesty for past crimes may only
exacerbate the issue, thus preventing true reconciliation. Drawing
important parallels and discrepancies between the Good Friday Agree-
ment and similar frameworks in Macedonia, Bosnia, and Lebanon, he
argues that both communal interaction and reciprocal recognition of
past traumas are the paths to real social change.
Group formation, the collective psyche, political symbolism, and
objects of identity are at the heart of the work produced by Elena
Mastors and Nicole Drumhiller. They, too, use the Union flag contro-
versy to illustrate prevalent cultural tensions in Northern Ireland, but
in different ways. Utilizing findings from interviews they conducted,
and mapping conflict within Belfast’s “interface areas,” where nation-
alist and Unionist interests overlap, the authors suggest the flag con-
troversy to represent a single episode within a broader consultative
political process. While their article mainly focuses on the ways in
which Protestant organizations feel the flag issue to represent an
attack on their cultural heritage, its examination of the role of the
Alliance Party as a voice of neutrality and mutual recognition speaks
to some of the points raised by Nagle, as well as to a neutral approach
to conflict resolution.
Some of the arguments, reflections, and speculations presented
within this volume are revisited in Cillian McGrattan’s contribution.
McGrattan, too, suggests that agonistic theory may help to dissolve
some entrenched cultural barriers between communities, and that sus-
tainable peace in Northern Ireland requires a reciprocal acknowledg-
ment of not only an opposing ideology’s traumatic past, but of one’s
own place within it. However, McGrattan’s hypothesis ultimately
attempts to hold the middle ground. He warns that in exploring the
history of a violent, sectarian conflict, exposing too much truth may
destabilize the peace process. On the other hand, a general amnesty
for past wrongs or perceived wrongs should also be avoided as it may
prevent an enduring peace by suggesting that violent precedents are
Introduction 441
trivial and the losses they produced outweighed in the overall interests
of peace.
Reflecting on peace and society during the Troubles and since will
certainly elicit a variety of responses, many of which do not feature in
this volume. Instead, the contributors put forward an overarching con-
cept regarding the origin, course, and de-escalation of the Troubles.
Simply, history informs individual as well as collective identity and is
in turn informed by it; the past is real and not something that can so
easily be forgotten, forgiven, or reconciled. This is not for lack of
tools or desire but perhaps stems from an underlying dualism within
the extreme sections of Northern Ireland society, one that simulta-
neously harbors elements of tribalism while resenting perceived
oppression.
This is not to suggest that attempts at peace over the last twenty
years have been futile, or that progress cannot be observed. Indeed,
one might even suggest that more recent milestones represent the very
type of reciprocal recognition suggested in this volume as necessary to
ensure enduring peace. For instance, the monumental visit of Queen
Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to Ireland in 2011 marked the
first visit of a British monarch to Ireland in a century, a clear mark of
human empathy as well as diplomacy. The following year, Deputy
First Minister and former Irish Republican Army commander Martin
McGuinness shook hands with the Queen in Belfast. One Sinn F�ein
representative commented that in their meeting McGuinness “empha-
sized the need to acknowledge the pain of all victims of the conflict
and their families,” echoing elements of agonism highlighted in this
volume.
Despite these gestures at the state level, Belfast may find even the
most recent history repeating itself. Fresh outrages over the size of
Union flag displays erupted in June ahead of the Orange marching sea-
son. Whether an innocent gesture, a repercussion from the decision to
reduce the number of days the Union flag flies over Belfast City Hall,
or a deliberate provocation, this most recent episode is an omnipresent
reminder of the force of symbols and identity in divided societies.
442 PEACE & CHANGE / October 2014