The Politics of Northern Ireland Beyond the Belfast Agreement [Hardcover]

In this book, one of the leading authorities on contemporary Northern Ireland politics provides an original, sophisticated and innovative examination of the post-Belfast agreement political landscape. Written in a fluid, witty and accessible style, this book explores:

• how the Belfast Agreement has changed the politics of Northern Ireland
• whether the peace process is still valid
• the problems caused by the language of politics in Northern Ireland
• the conditions necessary to secure political stability
• the inability of unionists and republicans to share the same political discourse
• the insights that political theory can offer to Northern Irish politics
• the future of key political parties and institutions.

1. Introduction  Part 1: Conditions  2. Fate and Choice  2.1 Iron Cage and Self-Construction  2.2 Process and Action  2.3 Conclusion  3. Means and Ends  3.1 Nostalgia and Imagination  3.2 Conservatism and Radicalism  3.3 Ends and Means  4. Winning and Losing  4.1 Insight and Vision  4.2 Transition and Transformation  4.3 Conclusion  Part 2: Modifications  5. New Ideas and Old Arguments  5.1 Inwardness and Outwardness  5.2 Democratic Transformation  5.3 Historic Compromise  6. The Belfast Agreement: Archaeology and Exposition  6.1 The Archaeology of the Agreement  6.2 Institutions of the Belfast Agreement  6.3 Conclusion  7. New Beginning and Modification of Circumstances  7.1 Agreement: Duck or Rabbit?  7.2 A New Beginning  7.3 Modification of Circumstances  7.4 Conclusion  Part 3: Consequences  8. Anxiety and ExlC.