In the past century we have experienced a vast majority of violent acts towards minority groups such as blacks, Jews, homosexuals and others. According to BBC the Troubles of Northern Ireland represent one of the latest examples of religious, ethnic, geographic and political conflict. The Troubles started in the late 1960s and it is considered by many to have ended with the Belfast Good Friday Agreement of 1998. After more than 30 years of civil conflict, peace had finally been achieved. However, random violence acts have continued since then. How did the Belfast Good Friday Agreement end the Troubles in Northern Ireland and how is the country today?
The island was divided into Northern Ireland and The Republic of Ireland in the 1920s. Northern Ireland was created through demographic compromise, which is a part of the United Kingdom. Many theories have developed over time, but no exact theory has yet to describe the complex struggle of the “Troubles”. The Troubles that broke out in the late 1960s had roots going back many decades lasting until 1998. The society has for many years been strictly divided between Unionists/Protestants, who want Northern Ireland to remain a part of the union with Great Britain and Nationalists/Catholics, who do not want this union.
During the nineteenth century a series of movements attempted to overrun the union. Some of the movements, such as the Repeal Movement in the 1840s and the Home Rule Movement from the 1870s were congressional, but there were also movements dedicated to overthrow the union by using physical force, like the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). The union would most likely been repealed by a Home Rule Act if it had not been for the interruption of the First World War. Durin...
... middle of paper ...
.... Importantly, President of the United States Bill Clinton took an active role, appointing US veteran senator George Mitchell as chair of the negotiating process that concluded in the Good Friday Agreement. Negotiating with Sinn Fein was unpleasant for many unionists. Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party viewed the whole process as unacceptable.
Nevertheless, the Good Friday agreement marked a significant shift in Northern Ireland’s political landscape. The Ulster Union Party (UUP) and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) agreed to accept power sharing with former members committed to the peace process. All members who signed the agreement supported the “consent principle”, which meant that any change in Northern Ireland’s constitutional status would happen if majorities voted in favor in separate elections held at the same time on both sides of the border.
“Ireland must be governed in the English interest” as Document 1 states. The Irish and English relationship is one of ethnic superiority over the other and geographical divide. The English feel like it is their duty to make the Irish people like themselves and they believe that their religion is the crux of what makes them inferior and the Irish just want to be left alone. The geographical divide between the nations is the mainly protestant, Ulster, and the Catholic rest of the island as Document 9 suggests. This has caused many disputes because of the fact that Irish Nationalists want the whole island unified.
After claiming independence from Great Britain, America had a tremulous start with thirteen states governing themselves using the Articles of Confederation and therefore not united under one whole government that set and regulated tax and commerce. With the states usually arguing and not providing financial support to the government, Shay’s Rebellion had begun in Massachusetts, urged by farmers, in protest of the tax collections and economic chaos. Without the political unrest caused by that one event, the future of America would have turned out differently; it would likely have been that the states would have plunged into massive debt and lost the freedoms achieved after the American Revolution. Afterwards, people had urged the creation of an effective government to support them, thus creating the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, fifty-five delega...
This four-page undergraduate paper discusses the opposition that American leaders encountered after the Revolution, as a result of deciding to form a central government. The states feared that such a government would suppress them and would interfere with their internal affairs. Consequently, heated debates and uprisings characterize this period, which started with the framing of Articles in 1777 and ended with the final adoption of the United States constitution in 1787.
First off, it is important to understand the political and social whereabouts of Northern Ireland from 1898 to gage the changes that have been made in policy. Before 1921, the North and South of Ireland were under British rule. When the government of Ireland Act 1920 partitioned the island of Ireland into two separate states, Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland, the North of Ireland remained under British rule while...
What events led to the dismantling of colonial home rule? What was the response to this?
The Main Features of The Good Friday Agreement A remarkable feature of Westminster's approach to the Northern Ireland. Troubles since 1969 have been the extent to which governments and Oppositions down the years set party conflicts aside in search of remedies and solutions to the problem. When Labour came to power in 1997, the outgoing Secretary of State. Sir Patrick Mayhew, was at pains to do all he could to help the poor.
occasions, but this was the first time it had been used in the UK. By
The Act of Union in 1800 was a significant factor to the nature of Irish nationalism in 1800. Prior to the Act, the society of the united Irishmen, a republican society who wanted parliamentary reform and Catholic Emancipation, fought, under the leadership of Robert Emmet, with physical force for their complete independence. Because of their military strand they differed from their predecessors the ‘Protestant Patriots’, this is because the society was heavily influenced by revolutionary events in France and New America in the late 18th century. The rebellion, although unsuccessful, with its leader imprisoned, had major consequential effects; which was the passing of the Act of Union in 1800. The Act set the tone for the rest of Irish history; once emancipation failed to materialize directly after the union, the Catholic issue began to dominate both Irish and English politics.
This gentleman is six foot two, short black hair, black eyes, and with no real distinguishing marks. He is heterosexual, African American, and is An Atheist. His name is David, and he is walking home while wearing sweat pants with a ripped up t-shirt that was from home. Some people would consider this gentleman to be poor and have a horrible education with nothing good on his mind. However David is a part-time firefighter, with a part-time job, and also being part time college student. There is a difference between people hardcore supporting their culture or beliefs, compared to individuals who get stereotyped like David for example. In the article, “Sticks and Stones: The Irish Identity”, by Robert McLaim Wilson and published by Grand Street.
The British occupation of Ireland began in the 1640’s and lasted until 1922. No other occurrence throughout Irish history has had a greater impact on the lives of the citizens of the country. Along with the act of occupation came the emergence of Protestantism, which conflicted with the traditional religion of Ireland, Catholicism. The English occupation of Ireland affected many aspects of Irish history from the potato famine to the War for Independence. However, Irish nationalism came to a boiling point April of 1916, in what is now known as the Easter Uprising. The uprising lasted 6 days and resulted in massive casualties, but furthered the liberation cause for the Irish.
The Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement was agreed to try and settle the conflicts in Northern Ireland, the agreement was reached on Friday the 10th of April. Voting on the 22nd Of May 1998 resulted in a majority in favor of the Good Friday Agreement. The agreement consisted of changes in the constitution, it was decided that there would be no change in the condition of N.Ireland without consent of the greater part, North and South, Article 2 and 3 of the Republican constitution have been altered to coincide with this principle of consent. The Government in N.Ireland was also changed; a new N.Ireland assembly was setup, a majority of Nationalists and Unionists is needed for all assembly choices. North-South bodies where also setup as well as a British-Irish council.
The Troubles Era was largely seen as having taken place primarily within the 1960s, although it expanded for three decades. During this time frame, civil rights marches occurred frequently and more often than not ended in bloody conflicts. Politicians were faced with restoring the peace and establishing a stronger and more economic Ireland. Inter-parties became common in an attempt to establish unity.
Farber, H. S., & Gowa, J. (1997). Common Interests or Common Politics? Reinterpreting the Democratic Peace. Journal of Politics 59 (2): 393-417.
The division between Northern and Southern Ireland dates back to the 16th century. A succession of English monarchs had used the planting of Protestant English and Scottish people on lands seized from Irish Catholics as a way of increasing loyalty to the British Crown. This is an example of how the British treated the people of Ireland unfairly.
The troubles refer to the age-old disputes over the control of Northern Ireland. Even though the arguments lasted for several centuries, things did not turn extremely violent until the 1960’s (Delaney). Many terrorists entered Northern Ireland during that time. Terrorists who entered the country were said to be okay, and there was nothing wrong with them. Letting the terrorists slip by without stopping them had very deadly consequences. Thousands of people died because of the terrorists invading Northern Ireland. Very few tried to stop the terrorists from coming into Northern Ireland (Graham). Those who did attempt to stop the terrorists were unsuccessful (De Breadun).