The Peace Process in Northern Ireland

The conflict in Northern Ireland is one of the most violent and long-lasting conflicts in Europe after 1945. So far, it has caused about 3600 deaths, tens of thousands of wounded people and enormous economic damage. This conflict does not only affect Northern Ireland itself, but also the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain as 'outside' conflict protagonists. Since these states are members of the European Union, the Northern Ireland conflict is also an all-European issue. This book deals with the development of the Northern Ireland peace process since 1998, its roots and its background. Furthermore, the book includes an introduction with data and statistics, a concise overview of the history of the conflict and basic information on the main conflict protagonists. Thus, a multi-level analysis of the existing literature, of journals, newspaper articles and of other material is drawn up.

Autorentext

The Author: Franz Valandro was born in Bludenz (Austria) in 1973. He studied Political Science and History at the universities of Innsbruck and New Orleans. During his doctorate, he got a scholarship from the Austrian Academy of Science. He received his Ph.D. in 2001. His doctor thesis is a comparative study of the ethnic conflicts in Northern Ireland and the Basque Country. Furthermore, his scientific work contains numerous books, publications and presentations on nationalism, ethnic conflicts and political extremism. Currently, he works as a coordinator of adult education at the Austrian Arbeiterkammer (Chamber of Labourers) in Feldkirch. Additionally, he is a scientific assistant at the Carinthian Institute for Ethnic Minorities (CIFEM) in Villach (Austria).

Inhalt
Contents: Northern Ireland The Northern Ireland conflict: history and current situation The peace process in Northern Ireland The Good Friday Agreement Ethnic conflict regulation Political violence and political extremism.