The Northern Ireland Peace Process - (Manchester University Press) by Eamonn O'Kane (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

This book offers a re-evaluation of the emergence, development and outcome of the peace process in Northern Ireland. Drawing on interviews with many of the key participants of the peace process, newly released archival material and the existing scholarship on the conflict, it explains the decisions that shaped the peace process in their proper context.

O'Kane argues that although the outcome of the process can be seen as a success, it is not the outcome that was originally expected or intended by most of its participants. By tracing the process and highlighting the pragmatic decisions of the parties that shaped it the work explains how Northern Ireland moved from conflict to peace. The book concludes by examining what the implications of Brexit are for Northern Ireland's hard-won peace and political stability.

From the Back Cover

Northern Ireland's peace process brought an end to Europe's longest-running post war armed conflict; yet the reasons for its emergence and outcome remain contested. This book charts the origin and development of the attempts to bring peace to Northern Ireland. It examines these developments in the context of the time in which they occurred. Many criticisms have been levelled at the process and its outcome in recent years, and this work explores the legitimacy of such accounts. It argues that critics often fail to appreciate the considerations and restraints that were acting on the key parties and individuals during the period.

Drawing on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, the book offers the fullest account of the transformation in Northern Ireland's politics currently available. It explains why a process that was intended to result in a power-sharing government, led by the 'moderate' parties in Northern Ireland, resulted in the triumph of the 'extremes'. The complexities of the peace process, from its clandestine origins in the early 1990s, through the perpetual crises of the following two decades and the shocks of the Brexit period, are explained. The book argues that although the peace process can certainly be seen as a success, its outcome was not what was intended or envisaged by its architects.

Review Quotes

'The Northern Ireland Peace Process stands out for its approach and attention to details that otherwise may have been missed throughout efforts to revisit the time with a modern eye, while being of interest to those seeking to understand how Northern Ireland's apparent success can be replicated elsewhere. Through evaluating the peace process within its moment, this book will continue to be of relevance into the future - no matter what form the peace process may take in the years ahead.'
Irish Studies Review

About the Author