British-Irish relations and Northern Ireland : from violent politics to conflict regulation / Brendan O'Duffy.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Duffy, Brendan.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Politics and government.

Relations.

Ireland--Relations--Great Britain.

Ireland.

Great Britain--Relations--Ireland.

Great Britain.

Northern Ireland--Politics and government--20th century.

Northern Ireland.

Physical Description:

xxii, 258 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Dublin ; Portland, OR : Irish Academic Press, 2007.

Summary:

This book examines the evolution of British-Irish relations since 1921 and applies theories from political and social sciences, including international relations to the Irish/Northern Irish case. The book includes the generation and analysis of data on violence and constitutional debate; the analysis of primary sources such as state papers and interviews with British and Irish officials, representatives of constitutional political parties in Northern Ireland and leaders and activists of republican and loyalist parties/organisations.

Part One looks at how the attempt to regulate the Irish nationalist challenge to the British state (through dominion status for the Irish Free State and partition) impacted on governance in both jurisdictions. The re-opening of the (Northern) Irish Question in the late 1960s is then analysed to demonstrate the continued primacy of opposing claims to national self-determination and their impact on subsidiary levels of conflict. Part Two covers the years 1985 to the present, then demonstrates how the relative equalization of national status, reflected in the bi-national, inter-governmental relationship, has been successful in regulating conflict by integrating, vertically, the bi-nationality at state, governmental and societal levels. Finally, implications of the British-Irish approach are developed as contributions to the comparative theory and practice of ethno-national conflict regulation.

Contents:

Chronology of Key Events in British-Irish Relations and Northern Ireland xi

Introduction: Pikes and Politics, Guns and Government 1

1 Political Violence and Nation-State Legitimacy 7

Part I Semi-Sovereignty and Semi-Constitutionalism 27

2 Coercing Agreement: The Anglo-Irish Treaty and its Discontents 37

3 Gone but not Forgotten: The Legacy of Violent Politics, 1922-1969 60

4 From Civil Rights to Civil War: 1966-1972 74

5 From Confusion to Power-Sharing: the Twin-Tracks to Sunningdale 90

Part II The Evolution of British-Irish Intergovernmentalism 111

6 Cultivating a 'Ripe Moment': The Evolution of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Approach 120

7 Forever is a Long Time: The 'Permanent' Eclipse of Violent Politics? 142

8 Triangulating the British-Irish (Good Friday) Agreements, 1997-2007 167

Conclusion: Implications for Theory and Practice of Ethno-National Conflict Regulation 194

Appendix Figures 1-19 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780716529538

071652953X

0716529548

9780716529545

OCLC:

173241165