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Article
Publication date: 29 June 2012

Eyob Fissuh, Olga Skarlato, Sean Byrne, Peter Karari and Ahmad Kawser

The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of cross‐communal cooperation and its contribution to peacebuilding and reconciliation in Northern Ireland through the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the importance of cross‐communal cooperation and its contribution to peacebuilding and reconciliation in Northern Ireland through the opinions of 752 respondents.

Design/methodology/approach

A multivariate analysis of the respondents' opinions was gathered through a Public Opinion Survey (MBU 2006), which addresses the issue of physical separation of the Catholic and Protestant communities in the context of the Northern Ireland peace process.

Findings

Findings indicate that religion is a key variable in any discussion of the sustainability of the Northern Ireland peace process in relation to cross‐community initiatives, social and economic integration as well as existing divisions between both communities. Moreover, professional and skilled worker respondents disagreed that the impacts of physical separation between both communities supports the peace process. Catholic Nationalists and respondents from Belfast city and the Western region of Northern Ireland were less likely to perceive the physical separation of both communities as negatively impacting the peace process.

Practical implications

The implication for practice necessitates that the liberal peacebuilding model includes hybrid approaches to harness external economic aid in post‐accord societies that are inclusive of local people, ideas and concerns.

Originality/value

The value of the paper to practitioners and policymakers is that the research on the impact of external economic aid on cross community conflict must include the triangulation of both qualitative and quantitative methods to fully grasp its complexity.

Details

International Journal of Conflict Management, vol. 23 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1044-4068

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1997

Andy Pike and John Tomaney

The paper examines the anatomy of manufacturing change in the regions by focusing on the political economy of restructuring in the North East region. The broad context of change…

Abstract

The paper examines the anatomy of manufacturing change in the regions by focusing on the political economy of restructuring in the North East region. The broad context of change in the manufacturing sector in the regions at the national level is outlined. The remainder of the paper deals with the issues in more detail through examining the recent experience of the North East region. The paper argues that the somewhat ad‐hoc mixture of market‐led and ‘neo‐interventionism’ of UK government policy toward the manufacturing sector has had particular effects on the nature of restructuring in the regions which has constrained the framework within which industrial adjustment and regional renewal could be undertaken.

Details

Management Research News, vol. 20 no. 2/3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0140-9174

Article
Publication date: 30 September 2013

Alan Bairner

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement (GFA) through the lens of sport, particularly football, and with reference…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implications of the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement (GFA) through the lens of sport, particularly football, and with reference to theoretical literature on peace-making processes.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is structured in such a way as to review theoretical literature, to consider the nature of the Northern Ireland problem and its implications for sport, to critique the current settlement and to demonstrate its failings using sport as an exemplar. The methods used are a critical review of relevant literature combined with reflections on the author's own involvement in sport and community relations.

Findings

The paper argues that the GFA has resulted in a consociational “solution” to the Northern Ireland problem. The example of sport, and especially the standing of the Northern Ireland football team, indicates that such a settlement fails to address the central problem of two divided communities with different political aspirations and attitudes towards national identity.

Research limitations/implications

The analysis is limited to the extent that it adopts an essentially top down approach. The findings deserve to be confirmed (or indeed refuted) at some future point by a gathering data from football fans and others. However, the implications are that the terms of the GFA should be revisited in the light of evidence of the failings of the current settlement not only as found in this paper but based on recent political developments.

Practical implications

The Irish Football Association has to address the perception that appears prevalent amongst some Catholic players that they are not wanted by the national association. Politicians need to renew their efforts to create greater mutual understanding instead of fooling themselves that so long as they can talk to each other, the communities they represent will remain peaceful.

Originality/value

I doubt if any academic author has had the same degree of involvement in relation to the role of sport in the Northern Ireland peace process. What gives the paper its particular value, however, is the fact that it is probably unique in looking at sport in Northern Ireland with specific reference to political science peace-making literature.

Details

Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1759-6599

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 October 1998

Marie Finnegan

The notion that equity is a prerequisite for economic growth and should be pursued as a policy objective in its own right has gained widespread acceptance in the 1990s at the…

472

Abstract

The notion that equity is a prerequisite for economic growth and should be pursued as a policy objective in its own right has gained widespread acceptance in the 1990s at the European and international level. In particular, equity considerations were explicitly introduced into the public policy domain in Northern Ireland in 1991 in the form of a public expenditure priority entitled “Targeting Social Need” (TSN). This article has a number of purposes. First, it outlines the theoretical underpinning of equity as a meaningful policy objective in Northern Ireland and elsewhere. Second, it evaluates the implementation of “Targeting Social Need” in Northern Ireland, a relatively disadvantaged and unequal society. Finally, it concludes by highlighting the less than effective implementation of this equity‐based policy in Northern Ireland to date and suggests how this could be usefully improved.

Details

International Journal of Social Economics, vol. 25 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0306-8293

Keywords

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