The lessons of Northern Ireland: lessons of Northern Ireland and the relevance of the regional context

It should be stated at the outset that the notion of Northern Ireland’s political settlement as a model for other societies evokes as much hostility as it does enthusiasm. Indeed, at least as much has been written in criticism of the idea of Northern Ireland as a model as in its support. Understanding the perspective of the critics on this issue is a useful starting point for reviewing the lessons to be learnt from the application to Northern Ireland of a variety of counter terrorism and conflict resolution policies, since it provides a means of sorting out in which respects Northern Ireland’s experience might be relevant to other cases and in which it is not

South African foreign policy in Africa

In order to take account of the radical change in South Africa's international and continental environment, I have divided this thesis under two headings; policy towards colonial Africa (broadly, the period 1910 - 1959) and secondly, policy towards independent Africa (1960 - ). The division is by no means an absolute one. South Africa first began to feel the pressures of decolonization soon after the end of the Second World War. These took a variety of forms; for example, India's attacks on South Africa's racial policy and the United Nations' refusal to countenance the incorporation of South West Africa into the Union. They were echoed internally by growing militancy on the part of the African National Congress in the 1950's. Similarly after 1960, by which time most of the countries of Africa had achieved independence, the remnants of colonialism remained important to South African foreign policy. Firstly, the continuing existence of the Portuguese empire has carried the colonial order into the 1970's. Secondly, the former colonial powers have continued to exercise considerable influence on their ex-colonies. In particular, France's neo-colonial hold on many of her former colonies has assumed special importance in the context of South African initiatives towards francophone Africa

Les catholiques en Irlande du nord face a l'Europe

L'accord anglo-irlandais de 1985 a aidé à restreindre le conflit politique en Irlande du Nord, par contre l'accord n'a pas solutionné la question du statut politique de l'Irlande du Nord ni l'entente entre les partis politiques sur la question de la redistribution des pouvoirs politiques. De ce fait, il y a un intérêt marqué dans la possibilité que l'union européenne peut fournir un cadre équitable à une solution plus complète à la question irlandaise. La minorité catholique est divisée autour de la question du rôle de l'Europe. Sinn Fein considère que l'intégration européenne représente un obstacle à son but d'une Irlande unifiée. Par contre, le parti social démocrate travailliste appuie la vision d'une Europe conçue en termes de régions comme modèle d'accommodement politique entre protestants et catholiques de l'Irlande du Nord. L'enthousiasme pour l'intégration politique témoigné par le parti social démocrate travailliste est fondé sur les avantages politiques qu'il retire de l'avancement de l'intégration européenne.The Anglo-lrish Agreement of 1985 has helped containing the Northern Ireland conflict, but it has neither resolved the issue of Northern Ireland's status as a political entity nor led to an agreement on the redistribution of political power among the parties in Northern Ireland. As a result there has been an increasing interest for the possibility of the European Union providing a suitable framework for a more complete solution to the Irish Question. The Catholic minority is divided on the question of Europe's role. Sinn Fein regards the European integration as an obstacle to the achievement of its goal of a united Ireland. By contrast, the Social Democratic Labour Party has enthusiastically supported the notion of a Europe of Regions capable of providing the context for political accommodation between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. The party's enthusiasm for the European Union is based on the political advantages it has derived from the progress of European integration

"The age of terrorism" and the international political system, 1967-1992.

The thesis examines the notion that an age of terrorism began In the late 1960s. It Is argued that this Issue is complicated by the different meanings associated with the term, terrorism. Three main meanings of the term are identified: a normative usage treating terrorism as violence without humanitarian constraints; its association with the lowest level of violent conflict; and a usage that treats terrorism as in practice co-terminus with assaults on the west. An examination of the most common generalisations about terrorism to be found in the literature follows. The use of the term In different contexts is highlighted by case studies of West Germany and Northern Ireland. It is argued that in so far as it is possible to treat the varieties of modern terrorisms as one, they are best seen as a post-colonial phenomenon which drew on the legitimisation of anti-imperialist violence against colonial rule. The reluctance to apply the term, terrorism, to political violence inside Third World countries is considered. The centrality of an international dimension to terrorism is analysed, followed by an examination of International co-operation to control covert violence by small groups that crosses state boundaries. Case studies of the ending of campaigns of violence by small groups are presented to underline the role played by internal group dynamics in terrorism. In conclusion, it is argued that the term, terrorism, is losing its coherence and, partly for that reason, terrorism is unlikely to be seen as a central feature of the international political system in the post-bipolar era

The international system and the Northern Ireland peace process

Paper presented to the IBIS conference Renovation or revolution? new territorial politics in Ireland and the United Kingdom, University College Dublin, 3 April 2002.The paper examines the impact of two major events in the international system on the peace process: the end of the Cold War and the attack on America on 11 September 2001. The thesis first advanced by Michael Cox that change in the international context of the conflict in Northern Ireland was a major influence in pressurising the republican movement to adopt its peace strategy in the early 1990s is analysed. Also examined are reasons why the thesis has proved so contentious and why more generally there remains considerable scepticism as to the capacity of external events to shape events in Ireland in any fundamental way. The question of the impact of September 11 is then addressed.Not applicableti, ke - TS 09/07/1