Essential text for a 1 term/semester undergraduate course on Northern Ireland (usually a 2nd year option). Combines coverage of the historical context of the situation in Northern Ireland with a thorough examination of the contemporary political situation and the peace process. The book explores the issues behind the longevity of the conflict and provides a detailed analysis of the attempts to create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland's political system is dominated by an Irish Catholic nationalist versus British Protestant unionist faultline, based upon the long-running argument over whether the region should remain part of the United Kingdom or form part of a United Ireland. Yet the largest category of elector in Northern Ireland says they are neither a unionist nor a nationalist and the third most popular political party is now Alliance, which is not aligned to either of the two traditional constitut...

For almost three decades the troubles in Northern Ireland raged, claiming over 3,600 lives, with civilians accounting for almost half the fatalities. In this book, Jonathan Tonge examines the reasons for that conflict; the motivations of the groups involved and explores the prospects for a post-conflict Northern Ireland.The book:assesses the motivations and campaigns of the IRA, UVF and UDA and other armed groupsdiscusses what each par...

Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2015The term �peace process� is now widely used to describe attempts to manage and resolve conflict. As the nature of conflict has changed, so the range of available tools for producing peace has grown. Alongside a plethora of political actions, there is now a greater international awareness of how peace can be brokered and policed. As a result, peace processes now extend well beyond the actuality of ceasefires and an absence o...

The Ulster Unionist Party: Country Before Party? uses unprecedented access to the party that dominated Northern Ireland politics for decades to assess the reasons for its decline and to analyse whether it can recover. Having helped produce the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) struggled to deliver the deal amid unease over aspects of what its leadership negotiated. Paramilitary prisoner releases, policing changes, and power-sharing with the republican ...

First published in 1997, this volume responded to the peace process of the 1980s and 1990s between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, emerging just prior to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. It constituted one of the first major academic examinations of the attempts to bring peace to Northern Ireland in the 1990’s, and explores the historical origins of the process, before moving towards a critical account of the role of political parties in the development of the peace process. Critics hav...

Containing contributions from leading names in British politics, this review continues to publish front-rank research on parties, elections and voting behaviour in Britain.

Containing contributions from leading names in British politics, this review continues to publish front-rank research on parties, elections and voting behaviour in Britain.

The British campaign in Northern Ireland remains one of the most controversial actions in recent history.This book by Aaron Edwards considers the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of what become the longest ever campaign embarked upon by British troops. The 38-year campaign, codenamed Operation Banner, went through a number of phases. It began as a peacekeeping operation, morphed into a counter-insurgency operation and ending as a policing and counter-ter...

On 18 September 2014, Scots will decide their future: should the country quit the United Kingdom and take control of its own destiny, or should it remain part of what advocates call the most successful political and economic union of modern times? Everyone in the country has a stake in this decision. Now, in this fascinating and insightful new book, David Torrance charts the countdown to the big day, weaving his way through a minefield of claim and counterclaim, and knocking down fictions ...

This year marks the centenary of Harold Wilson's birth, the fiftieth anniversary of his most impressive general election victory and forty years since his dramatic resignation as Prime Minister. He was one of the longest-serving premiers of the twentieth century, having won a staggering four general elections, yet, despite this monumental record, his place in Labour's history remains somewhat ambiguous.By the end of his two periods in power, both the left and right of the party were...

Hopes for a peaceful settlement in Northern Ireland have again put the politics of the province under the spotlight. This new text, written by acknowledged experts on Northern Ireland, provides an immediately accessible introduction to the multi-faceted nature of the politics of the region.