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Peace and Conflict Studies

2008

Articles 1 - 12 of 12

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The Role Of Political Discourse In Conflict Transformation: Evidence From Northern Ireland, Katy Hayward Aug 2008

The Role Of Political Discourse In Conflict Transformation: Evidence From Northern Ireland, Katy Hayward

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article introduces this volume by constructing a model for analysing political discourse as an instrument of conflict and peace, drawing on evidence from the Northern Ireland case. It identifies three processes, or stages, in a peace process in which political discourse can play a unique and crucial role: (i) the construction of a (conceptual) framework within which negotiations can take place, (ii) the facilitation of agreement between moderate and extreme positions, and (iii) the forging of common ground. The motivating thesis of this research is that discourse analysis is a vital resource for deepening our knowledge of why, how …

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Political Discourse In The Republic Of Ireland And Its Function In The Troubles And Peace Process In Northern Ireland, Catherine O'Donnell Aug 2008

Political Discourse In The Republic Of Ireland And Its Function In The Troubles And Peace Process In Northern Ireland, Catherine O'Donnell

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite some historical divergence, political parties in the Republic of Ireland shared some key objectives in response to the Troubles. Most consistently, each of the main parties (Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael) sought to undermine support for the IRA in Northern Ireland and de-legitimise arguments by Sinn Féin and the IRA. Over the course of the peace process, such common priorities developed into a wider shared discourse on the principles for agreement in Northern Ireland. The parties in the Republic soon established a vocal consensus incorporating support for the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin involvement in politics in Northern Ireland, …

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Interpreting New Labour's Political Discourse On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Aaron Edwards Aug 2008

Interpreting New Labour's Political Discourse On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Aaron Edwards

Peace and Conflict Studies

New Labour‟s superintendence of the Northern Ireland peace process has re-opened debate about the party‟s stance on the “Irish question”. While some commentators hold the view that it remains ideologically wedded to the nationalist goal of Irish unity, it could be argued that Labour‟s Northern Ireland policy has been characterised by an ambivalent non-interventionist approach. The “peace strategy” pursued by Tony Blair‟s three administrations between 1997 and 2007 is examined in light of the political discourse articulated by key actors within New Labour itself. Moreover, the interpretive approach in British political science is utilised to illuminate key variables, such as …

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“Faith, Crown And State”: Contemporary Discourses Within The Orange Order In Northern Ireland, James W. Mcauley, Jonathan Tonge Aug 2008

“Faith, Crown And State”: Contemporary Discourses Within The Orange Order In Northern Ireland, James W. Mcauley, Jonathan Tonge

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite a decline in membership in recent decades the Orange Order remains one of the largest and most significant organisations within civil society in Northern Ireland, representing a significant proportion of the Protestant population. The Orange Order claims a moral and political rationale to opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and many of the political consequences that have followed. Drawing upon a large membership survey of the Orange institution (the first such survey ever undertaken), and abetted by in-depth semi-structured interviews, this paper examines core political and social attitudes of Orange Order members in a post-conflict environment. It identifies …

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Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies Aug 2008

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Dup Discourses On Violence And Their Impact On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Amber Rankin, Gladys Ganiel Aug 2008

Dup Discourses On Violence And Their Impact On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Amber Rankin, Gladys Ganiel

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper analyses the Democratic Unionist Party‟s (DUP) discourses about paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland. Drawing on narrative analysis of DUP discourses reported in Northern Ireland‟s largest unionist newspaper, the News Letter (1998–2006), it explores the relationship between the party‟s identity, its discourses about republican and loyalist paramilitaries, and the impact of these words on the DUP‟s electoral success and on the peace process. The paper argues that these discourses may haunt the progress of peace-building, not least because the DUP will find it hard to disentangle itself from a history of scepticism and nay-saying even as it takes a …

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“Humespeak”: The Sdlp, Political Discourse, And The Northern Ireland Peace Process, P. J. Mcloughlin Aug 2008

“Humespeak”: The Sdlp, Political Discourse, And The Northern Ireland Peace Process, P. J. Mcloughlin

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper explores the vital role played by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the formulation of a new political discourse and conceptual approach to the Northern Ireland problem. In particular, it shows how John Hume, party leader through the 1980s and 1990s, helped to propagate this discourse, and in doing so influenced policy-making in London and Dublin, and thinking within the republican movement. Although the paper emphasises the importance of this influence, it concludes by considering the reasons why the Ulster unionist community have remained so unreceptive to the political discourse of Hume and the SDLP.

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Legitimizing Through Language: Political Discourse Worlds In Northern Ireland After The 1998 Agreement, Laura Filardo-Llamas Aug 2008

Legitimizing Through Language: Political Discourse Worlds In Northern Ireland After The 1998 Agreement, Laura Filardo-Llamas

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper employs the hypothesis that one of the functions of political discourse is to legitimise a perceived point of view by promoting certain representations of a socio-political reality. It could be argued that the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement creates a paradoxical reality in Northern Ireland because its language is so vague that it can be interpreted in different ways. This paper analyses linguistic categories used in the text of the Agreement to reveal the type of peaceful reality promoted and the constructive ambiguity used to facilitate agreement. It argues that the success of the peace process depended to …

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Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies Aug 2008

Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Narratives Of Legitimacy: Political Discourse In The Early Phase Of The Troubles In Northern Ireland, Sissel Rosland Aug 2008

Narratives Of Legitimacy: Political Discourse In The Early Phase Of The Troubles In Northern Ireland, Sissel Rosland

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article examines the discursive construction of legitimacy in the early phase of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The empirical material covers the debate on internment without trial from 1971 till 1975 – a debate which involved conflicting claims of legitimacy. Some strongly defended internment as a legitimate step in the fight against the IRA, whilst others regarded it as an illegitimate measure employed by a corrupt political regime. These conflicting claims of legitimacy entailed a conceptual battle concerned with the construction and authorisation of political order. The article explores this battle along three dimensions: law, violence, and democracy.

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The Maintenance Of Republican Ideology And Tactics In The Discourses Of Ira Former Prisoners, Peter Shirlow, Jonathan Tonge, James W. Mcauley Aug 2008

The Maintenance Of Republican Ideology And Tactics In The Discourses Of Ira Former Prisoners, Peter Shirlow, Jonathan Tonge, James W. Mcauley

Peace and Conflict Studies

The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland has generally failed to account for the attitudes and opinions of former combatants concerning the nature and meaning of discursively constructed identities and political strategies. This invisibility is peculiar in that debates concerning ideological shifts have been driven by academic analysis or by those former combatants who maintain that the Irish peace process is paralleled by core ideological abandonment. The material presented within this article indicates that former Provisional Irish Republican prisoners do not view the peace process as involving ideological ditching but instead that their commitment to …

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Volume 15, Number 1 (Summer 2008), Peace And Conflict Studies Aug 2008

Volume 15, Number 1 (Summer 2008), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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