The Northern Ireland Question: The Peace Process and the Belfast Agreement [Hardcover]

The book examines how the Belfast Agreement came about and its effect on unionism, nationalism, the paramilitaries, electoral support for local parties and the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. It also considers the extent to which the Agreement may be regarded as an exercise in political cynicism or the basis for lasting peace.Introduction; B.Barton & P.Roche The Historical Background to the Belfast Agreement; B.Barton Negotiating the Belfast Agreement; T.Hennessey Implementing Devolved Government 1999-2002; G.Gudgin The Belfast Agreement and the Constitutional Status of Northern Ireland; A.Morgan The Electoral Dynamics of the Belfast Agreement; S.Elliott Unionism and the Belfast Agreement; C.Farrington Northern Nationalism and the Belfast Agreement; C.McGrattan Republican Paramilitaries and the Peace Process; J.Tonge Loyalist Paramilitaries and the Peace Process; I.Wood The Belfast Agreement and Southern Irish Politics; C.O'Donnell The United States and the Peace Process; A.Guelke The Triumph of the Belfast Agreement; P.Bew The Case against the Belfast Agreement; D.Kennedy Conclusion; B.Barton & P.Roche

'The Belfast Agreement of 1998 has undergone rigorous and at times dangerous tests. Brian Barton and Patrick Roche have assembled a team of experts who give a comprehensive history of an unlikely compromise that has influenced and reflected politics and society in Northern Ireland, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.' - George Boyce, Emeritus Professor, University of Swansea, UK

'This is a uniformly readable, challenging, and insightful collection of essays on the Northern Ireland Peace Process. It offers impressive intellectual range, authoritative scholarship, and incisive critical comment and analysis. It should be read and reflected upon by all students of Northern Ireland politics and, indeed, the Province's politicians themselves.' Graham Walker, Professor of Political History, Queen's Universityl“/