Book review: contesting democracy: political ideas in twentieth century Europe by Jan-Werner Müller

Jan-Werner Müller presents a major account of political thought in twentieth century Europe. Müller argues that the Second World War was pivotal in shaping the democratic values so familiar in the European community. Although the author carefully considers the most familiar thinkers alongside those now forgotten, Bill Kissane feels that the book still tells only half the story

Few have ever doubted the quality of Robert Dahl’s work

Robert Dahl, the foremost American political scientist of the post-war era, passed away earlier this month. Bill Kissane looks back at the central role he played in creating the discipline of political science in the United States after the war and his status as the pioneer of democratization studies

Division, Reconstruction, Reconciliation: what happens to identity after civil war?

In March 2011, Dr Bill Kissane organised an international workshop on the topic of reconstructing identity after civil wars. The book which followed, After Civil War: Division, Reconstruction and Reconciliation in Contemporary Europe, 1918-2011, was published in November 2014. Edited by Bill Kissane, the book explores both the theoretical and the practical, using case studies on Bosnia, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, the Irish Free State, Spain, Kosovo, Northern Ireland, and Turkey to compare reconstruction projects. Three of these case studies were written by members of the Government Department’s Conflict Research Group; Jim Hughes, ‘Reconstruction without Reconciliation: is Northern Ireland a Model?’ Bill Kissane, ‘A Nation Once Again: The Reconstruction of National Identity after the Irish Civil War 1922-1938’and Denisa Kostovicova and Vesna Bojicic- Dzelilovic, ‘Ethnicity Pays: The Political Economy of Post-Conflict Nationalism in Bosnia-Herzegovina.’ Here, Bill Kissane considers the book’s findings further, asking what the relationships between reconstruction, nationalism and reconciliation are in post-conflict societies

Why is there no Nelson Mandela figure in Northern Ireland?

Mandela has come to personify the values needed to make a transition from war to peace, but transitions from rule by a privileged minority to a more inclusive democratic system have occurred elsewhere without producing heroic leaders. Bill Kissane compares the South African and Northern Irish transitions and highlights that while Mandela did have the combination of personal, ethical and political qualities to play ‘the great unifier’, he was also operating in a context where it was possible for him to do so

The tragedy of Syria and the nature of civil war

Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in civil war and humanitarian crisis. As unrest continues and international involvement grows, Dr Bill Kissane discusses what makes civil wars such a destructive form of conflict

Does engaging the public in the constitutional process depend on the existence of a ‘constitutional identity’?

As our ConstitutionUK Constitutional Convention approaches, Professor Bill Kissane considers the questions of constitutional change, identity and public identity in the UK today

What is at stake in the Turkish constitutional referendum?

In this policy brief, Dr Bill Kissane of LSE examines the Turkish referendum on the most ambitious changes to the Turkish constitution yet seen, which was called in the aftermath of the failed military coup of 2016

On the shock of civil war: cultural trauma and national identity in Finland and Ireland

What role does national identity play after civil war? Is reconstruction possible on the basis of an existing identity, or does a new identity have to be found? Much depends on whether narratives of conflict are unifying. I use the tools of cultural sociology to explain why the Finnish Civil War of 1918 has become a unifying ‘cultural trauma’ for the Finns, whereas the Irish Civil War of 1922–23 never became the dominant referent in Irish national identity. The difference is explained by the greater shock civil war posed to Finnish national identity

The geographical spread of state executions during the Irish Civil War, 1922-1923

The state executions of 81 IRA men during the Irish civil war have long been a bitter, almost taboo subject in Irish society. This article provides a geographical perspective on these executions. While the origins of the policy can be traced to elite divisions, the geographical spread of the executions, especially in 1923, reflected the geography of the civil war, and the need to broadcast state power at the local level during its guerrilla phase. The article maps the geographical spread of the executions and analyzes their diffusion in terms of a number of general and Irish-specific theories of civil war violence. Because the civil war originated in elite differences over a treaty, and because the two sides of the conflict had been so personally close at the elite level, historians have tended to explain the executions in terms of elite psychology. Yet while the initial development of the policy reflected the centralization of power by the protreaty elite, in terms of timing, strategic rationale, and location territorial perspectives on civil war explain much more about their diffusion in 1923