School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy
Clancy
mclancy02@qub.ac.uk
Thesis
‘Peace Without Consensus: Post-Agreement Politics in Northern Ireland: 2001-2007’
Debates regarding the Belfast Agreement largely revolve around two axes: consociationalism and integrationism. The weakness of the integrationist critique has rendered the consociational interpretation of the Belfast Agreement all but hegemonic, but there remains the question of the extent to which consociational thinking has actually featured in political élites’various attempts to provide a framework for mitigating the ethno-national conflict in Northern Ireland. This thesis will attempt to situate analysis of the post-Agreement period within the broader debates regarding government policy within Northern Ireland. Does the pursuit of a deal between the ‘extremes’ represent the apotheosis of ‘ethno-national policy learning’—wherein political actors have come to believe that a consociational settlement represents the best way of stabilising Northern Ireland—or is it merely a modern manifestation of élites’ historical propensity towards cost minimisation in the region? If the latter appears correct, can consociationalism as applied to Northern Ireland be considered a ‘degenerative research programme’ which is sustained by the rhetorical and political skills of its acolytes?
Adopting Cowling’s ‘high politics’ approach, analysis of the post-Agreement period will be conducted through interviews with various British, Irish, and Northern Irish political élites. Additionally, several US officials who have been intimately involved in the post-Agreement politics of Northern Ireland will be interviewed. It is argued that various officials in the Bush administration have played significant roles in shaping Northern Ireland’s post-Agreement complexion, and that thus far scholars have largely overlooked their contribution to the ongoing peace process. In addition to providing an original contribution to the existing literature on post-Agreement politics, it is held that careful analysis of the United States’ role in the post-Agreement period raises difficult questions for the consociational interpretation of Northern Irish politics.
Areas of Research
Irish politics, the politics of deeply divided societies, US politics, and political economy.