The evolution of consociationalism in Northern Ireland

Consociationalism has been posited as a democratic option for societies that are deeply divided. Yet the historic Belfast/Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was the first truly consociational political solution to the Northern Ireland problem. Few, if any, would argue that there has been a deficit of research on the Northern Ireland 'problem' (even the least ardent environmentalist could not but suffer a twinge of guilt at adding another 'papersome' tome to the pile). Nonetheless no research, to date, has analysed how factors that originally prevented a consociational approach have become favourable. This body of work aims to address this imbalance. Understanding the factors that have made Northern Ireland more conducive to consociationalism serves a twofold purpose. Firstly, it will contribute to a better comprehension of the shifting dynamic of politics in the region, which in turn impacts on the implementation of consociationalism and the consolidation of democracy. Secondly, it will facilitate future comparative analyses, in the hope that elements of the Northern Ireland peace process might prove useful to the resolution/management of other ethnic conflicts. Retrojection, the imposition of modern values to the study of past events, is a potential pitfall of an 'evolutionary' approach. Applying modern political science theories to historical events presented the researcher with a challenge. Hopefully this challenge has been met but ultimately this is for the reader to decide.