The British and peace in Northern Ireland : the process and practice of reaching agreement / edited by Graham Spencer.

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2015.

xxiv, 353 pages ; 23 cm

"How did the British government and civil service shape the Northern Ireland peace process? What kinds 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 examines a spectrum of areas and issues which came into play during the dialogues and negotiations which led to political agreement in Northern Ireland. A compelling insight into what actually happened inside the negotiating room and how the British tried to shape the course of negotiations"-- Provided by publisher.

English

April 17, 2015

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 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 inter-communal 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.