Beyond Violence

After almost 30 years of bloody conflict, the opposing parties in Northern Ireland signed the "Good Friday Agreement" in 1998, a document that specifies how to share power, thus bringing to an end the fighting that had claimed so many lives. What were the processes of conflict resolution that enabled Northern Ireland to move beyond violence and agree to such a settlement? Mari Fitzduff was involved in many of these processes and was a close observer of the others. Drawing on her extensive experience, she outlines the strategic developments, arrived at slowly and with difficulty over the years, that enabled agreement to be reached. These include programmes that successfully addressed the inequalities between the Protestant and Catholic communities, resulting in a more positive approach to cultural and political diversity and a significant decrease in tensions. The book contains practical insights for other nations struggling to manage and resolve ethnic, religious, political, or cultural conflicts.