Feargal Cochrane - Böcker

The complete history of Northern Ireland from the Irish Civil War to Brexit“A wonderful book, beautifully written. . . . Informative and incisive.”—Irish Times  After two decades of relative peace following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Brexit referendum in 2016 reopened the Northern Ireland question. In this thoughtful and engaging book, Feargal Cochrane considers the region’s troubled history from the struggle for Irish independence in the nineteenth century to the present. New chapters explain the reasons for the suspension of devolved government at Stormont in 2017 and its restoration in 2020 as well as the consequences for Northern Ireland of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Providing a complete account of the province’s hundred-year history, this book is essential reading to understand the present dimensions of the Northern Irish conflict.

A lively and inviting history of Belfast—exploring the highs and lows of a resilient city  Modern Belfast is a beautiful city with a vibrant tradition of radicalism, industry, architectural innovation, and cultural achievement. But the city’s many qualities are all too frequently overlooked, its image marred by association with the political violence of the Troubles.  Feargal Cochrane tells the story of his home city, revealing a rich and complex history which is not solely defined by these conflicts. From its emergence as a maritime port to its heyday as a center for the linen industry and crucible of liberal radicalism in the late eighteenth century, through to the famous shipyards where the Titanic was built, Belfast has long been a hub of innovation. Cochrane’s book offers a new perspective on this fascinating story, demonstrating how religion, culture, and politics have shaped the way people think, act, and vote in the city—and how Belfast’s past continues to shape its present and future.

This book focuses on the design and operation of power-sharing in deeply divided societies. Beyond this starting point, it seeks to examine the different ways in which consociational institutions emerge from negotiations and peace settlements across three counter-intuitive cases – post-Brexit referendum Northern Ireland, the Brussels Capital Region and Cyprus. Across each of the chapters, the analysis assesses how the design or mediation of these various forms of power-sharing demonstrate similarity, difference and complexity in how consociationalism has been conceived of and operated within each of these contexts. Finally, a key objective of the book is to explore and evaluate how ideas surrounding power-sharing have evolved and changed incrementally within each of the empirical contexts. The unifying argument within the book is that power-sharing has to have the capacity to adapt to changing political circumstances, and that this can be achieved through the interplay of formal and informal micro-level refinements to these institutions and the procedures that govern them, that allow such institutions to evolve over time in ways that increase their utility as conflict transformation governance structures for deeply divided societies. This book fills the gap in the published literature between theoretical and empirical studies of power-sharing, and will be of much interest to students of peace and conflict studies, consociationalism, European politics and IR in general.

This book is an interdisciplinary examination of several interconnecting aspects of migrant communities in the context of contemporary conflict and security. The book illustrates that within this globalised world, migrants have become key actors, living in the spaces between states, as well as within them. Arguing that migrants and their descendants are vital and complex constituencies for the achievement of security in this global age, the volume uses a number of case studies, including Palestinian, Sri Lankan, Irish and Somali diaspora communities, to explore the different ways that such groups intersect with issues of security, and how these attitudes and behaviours have evolved in the context of political transnationalism and the global economy.Comparative and econometric studies of migration can provide a wide lens but at times fail to capture the depth and complexity of these communities and attitudes within them. At the same time, empirically focused studies are often case-specific and, while rich in local detail, lack comparative breadth or the ability to make connections and see irregularities across a number of contexts that might be of interest to scholars beyond that specific area. This book connects these literatures together more thoroughly. In particular, it demonstrates that political, cultural, economic and social factors all play important roles in helping us understand the actual (and potential) roles of migrant communities in conflict and the establishment of sustainable security within contemporary society. Lastly, given this context, the book seeks to examine the challenges and opportunities that exist, for such a sustainable security strategy to be developed.This book will be of much interest to students of migration and diaspora communities, peace and conflict studies, security studies and ethnic conflict.

Many books have been written about war, but few have focused on how wars can be brought to an end. Wars are rarely inevitable however and this book is aimed at understanding how violent conflicts can be brought to a close through intervention, mediation and political negotiation. The simple premise underlying the book is that wars between states and wars within states are generally fought by rational people for particular political goals or perceived interests. War is better understood as a methodology rather than an ideology. When the context, issues and actors in these armed conflicts change then it is often possible to control, or even transform such violence.By bringing together a number of existing debates from peace and conflict research as well as scholars of international relations, the book examines the dynamic forces that lie behind the ending of wars and how these have changed over time. Examples are drawn from a wide range of armed conflicts to analyse the efforts that have been made to move from War-War to Jaw-Jaw, or more typically Jaw-War. Efforts at third-party intervention, mediation and political negotiation across a range of conflict zones from Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa are discussed in full. Neither idealistic nor fatalistic, this book is a must-read for all students of international politics and security studies.

Many books have been written about war, but few have focused on how wars can be brought to an end. Wars are rarely inevitable however and this book is aimed at understanding how violent conflicts can be brought to a close through intervention, mediation and political negotiation. The simple premise underlying the book is that wars between states and wars within states are generally fought by rational people for particular political goals or perceived interests. War is better understood as a methodology rather than an ideology. When the context, issues and actors in these armed conflicts change then it is often possible to control, or even transform such violence.By bringing together a number of existing debates from peace and conflict research as well as scholars of international relations, the book examines the dynamic forces that lie behind the ending of wars and how these have changed over time. Examples are drawn from a wide range of armed conflicts to analyse the efforts that have been made to move from War-War to Jaw-Jaw, or more typically Jaw-War. Efforts at third-party intervention, mediation and political negotiation across a range of conflict zones from Europe to Sub-Saharan Africa are discussed in full. Neither idealistic nor fatalistic, this book is a must-read for all students of international politics and security studies.

This book focuses on the design and operation of power-sharing in deeply divided societies. Beyond this starting point, it seeks to examine the different ways in which consociational institutions emerge from negotiations and peace settlements across three counter-intuitive cases – post-Brexit referendum Northern Ireland, the Brussels Capital Region and Cyprus. Across each of the chapters, the analysis assesses how the design or mediation of these various forms of power-sharing demonstrate similarity, difference and complexity in how consociationalism has been conceived of and operated within each of these contexts. Finally, a key objective of the book is to explore and evaluate how ideas surrounding power-sharing have evolved and changed incrementally within each of the empirical contexts. The unifying argument within the book is that power-sharing has to have the capacity to adapt to changing political circumstances, and that this can be achieved through the interplay of formal and informal micro-level refinements to these institutions and the procedures that govern them, that allow such institutions to evolve over time in ways that increase their utility as conflict transformation governance structures for deeply divided societies. This book fills the gap in the published literature between theoretical and empirical studies of power-sharing, and will be of much interest to students of peace and conflict studies, consociationalism, European politics and IR in general.

This book is an interdisciplinary examination of several interconnecting aspects of migrant communities in the context of contemporary conflict and security. The book illustrates that within this globalised world, migrants have become key actors, living in the spaces between states, as well as within them. Arguing that migrants and their descendants are vital and complex constituencies for the achievement of security in this global age, the volume uses a number of case studies, including Palestinian, Sri Lankan, Irish and Somali diaspora communities, to explore the different ways that such groups intersect with issues of security, and how these attitudes and behaviours have evolved in the context of political transnationalism and the global economy.Comparative and econometric studies of migration can provide a wide lens but at times fail to capture the depth and complexity of these communities and attitudes within them. At the same time, empirically focused studies are often case-specific and, while rich in local detail, lack comparative breadth or the ability to make connections and see irregularities across a number of contexts that might be of interest to scholars beyond that specific area. This book connects these literatures together more thoroughly. In particular, it demonstrates that political, cultural, economic and social factors all play important roles in helping us understand the actual (and potential) roles of migrant communities in conflict and the establishment of sustainable security within contemporary society. Lastly, given this context, the book seeks to examine the challenges and opportunities that exist, for such a sustainable security strategy to be developed.This book will be of much interest to students of migration and diaspora communities, peace and conflict studies, security studies and ethnic conflict.

In 2021, Northern Ireland will commemorate its centenary, but Brexit, more than any other event in that 100-year history, has jeopardised its very existence. Events since 2016 have complicated political relationships within Northern Ireland and further destabilised the devolved institutions established in the wake of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Feargal Cochrane’s urgent analysis argues that Brexit is breaking peace in Northern Ireland, making it the most significant event since Partition. Endless negotiations and uncertainty have brought contested identities back to the forefront of political debate. Always so much more than a line on a map, the border has become an existential marker of identity as well as a reminder of the dark days of violent conflict. This insightful book explores how and why the Brexit negotiations have been so destabilising for politics in Northern Ireland, opening the door to a violent past.