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Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity is a unique in-depth investigation into working-class Loyalism in Northern Ireland as represented by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Red Hand Commando (RHC) and their political allies. In an unorthodox account, Tony Novosel argues that these groups, seen as implacable enemies by Republicans and the left, did develop a political analysis of the Northern Ireland conflict in the 1970s which involved a compromise peace with all political parties and warring factions – something that historians and writers have largely ignored. Distinctive, deeply informed and provocative, Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity is the first study to focus not on the violent actions of the UVF/RHC but on their political vision and programme which, Novosel argues, included the potential for a viable peace based on compromise with all groups, including the Irish Republican Army.

Lee Smithey examines how symbolic cultural expressions in Northern Ireland, such as parades, bonfires, murals, and commemorations, provide opportunities for Protestant unionists and loyalists to reconstruct their collective identities and participate in conflict transformation.

Reconciliation has been a notable part of discourses of conflict management and transitional justice in a number of conflictual situations around the world. This article examines the recent emergence of critical theories of reconciliation with particular reference to processes of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. It evaluates the ways in which conflict transformation in Northern Ireland is specific to that context and the variations in the usage of discourses of reconciliation compared with other 'post-conflict' societies. The article highlights critical theories of reconciliation which, although largely supportive of the potential of reconciliation, tend to highlight the arguments and conflicts that notions of reconciliation can generate. By examining the ways in which reconciliation is articulated in Northern Ireland through interviews with representatives of the main political parties, the article contends that narrative approaches are best suited to analysis of the issues in Northern Irish politics. The argument developed here suggests that reconciliation in Northern Ireland is part of a 'disjunctured synthesis' whereby the main political parties become locked into narratives of reconciliation based on opposition to the perceived position of the other. La réconciliation constitue une part notable des discours sur la gestion des conflits et la justice transitionnelle dans nombre de situations conflictuelles dans le monde entier. Cet article examine l'apparition récente de théories critiques de la réconciliation, avec une référence particulière aux processus de transformation du conflit en Irlande du Nord. Il évalue comment la transformation du conflit en Irlande du Nord est spécifique à ce contexte, ainsi que les variations dans l'utilisation des discours de réconciliation, comparées à d'autres sociétés 'post-conflit'. L'article met en évidence les théories critiques de la réconciliation qui, bien que soutenant largement le potentiel de la réconciliation, ont tendance à surligner les polémiques et les conflits que les notions de réconciliation peuvent produire. En examinant, à travers des entretiens avec les représentants des principaux partis politiques, comment la réconciliation s'est articulée en Irlande du Nord, l'article affirme que les approches narratives sont les mieux appropriées à l'analyse des questions de politique nord-irlandaise. L'argumentation développée ici suggère que la réconciliation en Irlande du Nord participe d'une ' synthèse disjointe' qui enferme les principaux partis politiques dans des récits de réconciliation fondés sur l'opposition à la posture supposée de l'autre. El concepto de reconciliación ha llegado a formar una parte importante del discurso sobre la gestión de conflictos y justicia transicional en numerosas situaciones de conflicto en todo el mundo. Este artículo examina la reciente aparición de teorías críticas de la reconciliación, haciendo especial referencia a los procesos de transformación del conflicto en Irlanda del Norte. El artículo hace una valoración de la especificidad contextual del proceso de transformación del conflicto en Irlanda del Norte en comparación con contras sociedades 'post-conflictuales', así como del uso de discursos de reconciliación. El artículo destaca teorías críticas que, si bien avalan el potencial de la reconciliación, hacen hincapié en las discusiones y discrepancias que dicho concepto genera. Partiendo de entrevistas con representantes de los principales partidos políticos de Irlanda del Norte, el artículo examina cómo se articula el concepto de reconciliación, sosteniendo que estos enfoques narrativos son más adecuados para el análisis de los problemas específicos de la política norirlandesa. El argumento aquí desarrollado sugiere que la reconciliación en Irlanda del Norte forma parte de una 'síntesis disociada' en la que los principales partidos políticos se encierran en narrativas basadas en la oposición al posicionamiento de los otros, tal y como éste es percibido.

This book provides a unique insight into the beliefs and political ideology of the Ulster Defence Assocation (UDA) and the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF). Featuring interviews with key members of these paramilitary groups, many conducted inside the Maze prison, Colin Crawford presents a thorough analysis of Loyalism and the role that Loyalist paramilitary groups continue to play in Northern Ireland's troubles. He also provides an insider's account of the workings of state-sponsored terrorism. This book comes at a particularly challenging time for Loyalist politics, and for the UDA in particular. There have been several Loyalist feuds, and since the expulsion of Johnny Adair from the UDA in 2002 volunteers have turned upon each other -- these killings have made international headlines. Crawford explores these tensions and assesses the difficulties that the UDA faces in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement. He analyses the Ulster Democratic Party's failure to win seats in the 1998 elections, and he examines the conflict between those who are motivated by the profits of crime and drug trafficking, and those motivated by political ideals. The book makes disturbing and often heartbreaking reading, and it marks an important step forward in understanding the Loyalist position -- for it is only through improving our understanding of the experience of all citizens in Northern Ireland that lasting peace can be achieved.

In 1921, the Victorian railways became a site of contested loyalties surrounding the response of the Australian labour movement to the Irish revolution. This paper will examine the case of Alex Morrison and Tom Wilson, two non-Irish shop stewards of the Victorian Branch of the Australian Railways Union (ARU) victimised by the Lawson Government in March 1921 for publicly sympathising with Irish railway workers killed by the \"Black and Tans\" in Cork during the Anglo-Irish War. The controversy, which coincided with the birth of the Self-Determination for Ireland League, became a focus for both an Empire loyalist backlash and a labour movement defence campaign in the lead up to the 1921 State Election. It marked a moment at which the Irish crisis of 1916-23 catalysed organised campaign activity in the industrial wing, in addition to the political wing, of the Australian labour movement. Framed within the paradigm of international labour solidarity instead of Irish diaspora, the stance of Morrison and Wilson reflected the mutual entanglement of Irish-Australian and labour internationalist allegiances in the wake of both the Australian conscription plebiscites and the Russian Revolution. A \"view from below\" of the \"Irish Question\" in the Victorian railways presents an alternative, if parallel, form of transnational politicisation around Ireland to that of \"long-distance nationalism.\"

\"'Flags', 'Emblems' and 'The Past'; three seemingly insurmountable challenges which continue to hinder the peace process in Northern Ireland. For many, the responsibility for the impasse that scuppered the Haass talks and brought violent protests to the streets of Belfast appears to rest with the perceived intransigence of the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist communities to embrace change. That this community is itself riven with internal rancour and discord should come as no surprise. Issues of social class, denominational alignment, political aspiration and national identity have historically divided what outsiders have often mistakenly viewed as a collective cultural, religious and socio-political entity.This study explores the statement by Henry McDonald that this is '...the least fashionable community in Western Europe'. A diverse group of contributors including prominent politicians, academics, journalists and artists investigate the reasons informing public perceptions attaching to the Protestant, Unionist and Loyalist communities in Ulster\"-- Provided by publisher.

Using the case of a deeply divided society (Northern Ireland) in the aftermath of a major peace accord, this article combines two methodological approaches to assess the public reception of the peace accord and its impact on intergroup competition. The social psychological concept of esteem (central to social identity theory) and time-series data are used to assess intergroup relations between Protestant-unionists and Catholic-nationalists in Northern Ireland in the wake of the 1998 peace accord. By illustrating the disparity of esteem between the two main politico-religious groups, the article indicates early settlement weakness. Moreover, it suggests a conceptual approach that may be applicable to the study of intergroup competitions in other divided societies.