Cohesion, Sharing, and Integration in Northern Ireland

The devolved government in Northern Ireland pledged to work for a `shared and better future for all' in its Programme for Government 2008 ^ 11. In pursuit of this goal it launched a consultation document entitled Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration which challenged the assumption that division and segregation is a `normal' pattern of living. I locate the policy proposals contained within the new programme in the research on community cohesion in Great Britain. I interrogate, using attitudinal data, people's preferences for the kind of society they want Northern Ireland to become and the policy consequences of their choices. Using two case studies in education and housing, I highlight the benefits of a shared society and question whether Northern Ireland can embrace the core elements of an intercultural society

Reiterating national identities: The European Union Conception of Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland

The Haagerup Report commissioned by the European Parliament in 1984 was the first major initiative taken by the European Union on the situation of conflict in Northern Ireland. It embodied a conceptualisation of the conflict as between two national identities defined in relation to the Irish border. The EU’s self-ascribed role towards a settlement in Northern Ireland since that time has followed this vein by supporting the peaceful expression of British and Irish identities rather than reconstructing them or creating alternatives. This nation-based approach is encapsulated in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement between the governments of the UK and Ireland and political parties in Northern Ireland. Through detailed analysis of the Haagerup Report in the light of the peace process in Northern Ireland as a whole, this article assesses the implications of conceptualising Northern Ireland as a clash of national identities for resolution of the conflict and argues for a subsequent reconsideration of the EU’s role in conflict resolution.Not applicableLink to published version.http://cac.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/3/261. DG 08/07/10 ke SB. 26/7/1