The British and Peace in Northern Ireland
The Process and Practice of Reaching Agreement

The first study of the roles played by senior British officials and civil servants in the Northern Ireland peace process.

Graham Spencer (Edited by)

9781107617506, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 March 2015

374 pages
23 x 15 x 2 cm, 0.59 kg

'The British and Peace in Northern Ireland is an indispensable book for any scholar examining how the peace process was constructed in the region. Graham Spencer has assembled the frank thoughts of a formidable cast of policy-makers to explain the evolution of British thinking on Northern Ireland and how this translated into the political frameworks which underpinned the onset of relative peace. Participants chronicle the 'treading on eggshells' and regular frustrations of dealing with rival unionist and national political actors in inching towards desired British goals. This is the authentic voice of those who shaped British and Irish history at a crucial time and is a 'must-read' volume.' Jon Tonge, University of Liverpool

How did the British Government and Civil Service shape the Northern Ireland peace process? What kind of tensions and debates were being played out between the two governments and the various parties in Northern Ireland? Addressing texts, negotiations, dialogues, space, leverage, strategy, ambiguity, interpersonal relations and convergence, this is the first volume to examine how senior British officials and civil servants worked to bring about power-sharing in Northern Ireland. With a unique format featuring self-authored inside accounts and interview testimonies, it considers a spectrum of areas and issues that came into play during the dialogues and negotiations that led to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and political accommodation in Northern Ireland. This book provides a compelling insight into what actually happened inside the negotiating room and how the British tried to shape the course of negotiations.

Introduction
1. The terrain of discourse Sir Kenneth Bloomfield
2. The Anglo-Irish Agreement: an interview with Sir David Goodall and Lord Armstrong of Ilminster
3. The constitutional issue in Irish politics David Hill
4. Negotiations and positions: an interview with Sir John Chilcot
5. Resolving intercommunal conflict: some enabling factors Sir Quentin Thomas
6. Tactics, strategy and space Chris Maccabe
7. The Joint Declaration and memory David Cooke
8. Movement and transition in 1997: Major to Blair Sir John Holmes
9. The challenge of symmetry in dialogue: an interview with Sir Joseph Pilling
10. Why was the Good Friday Agreement so hard to implement? Lessons from Groundhog Day, 1998–2002 Sir Bill Jeffrey
11. Text and context: an interview with William Fittall
12. The nature of dialogue: an interview with Sir Jonathan Phillips
13. Managing the tensions of difference: an interview with Jonathan Powell
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Constitution: government & the state [JPHC], Politics & government [JP]