Northern Ireland is a society not just of two communities but of many. This chapter uses empirical data from surveys and election studies to get a detailed, up-to-date impression of the range of identities held by people living in Northern Ireland today and, importantly, to consider what this means for the future. The chapter deliberately looks ‘in between’ the binaries which tend to be drawn across Northern Irish society. First, it looks at the growth of those who identify as having no religion and considers how this might impact on social preferences in the longer term. It also examines the steady increase in the proportion of those who describe themselves as being neither unionist nor nationalist, and considers whether this constitutes a common identity or mainly a rejection of a divisive politics. Related to this is the fact that many people of different backgrounds in Northern Ireland think of themselves as both British and Irish. The chapter considers what this means, as well as looking to see what is distinctive about the ‘Northern Irish’ identity as it has come to be conceived. Although it is strikingly homogenous compared to its neighbours, the population of Northern Ireland is increasingly ethnically and linguistically diverse and made up of people who were born outside the region. However, statistics show that prejudice and intolerance are certainly not problems of the past in Northern Ireland. Although the younger generation are less likely to oppose mixing and immigration than their parents, they are also less likely to vote and still largely conditioned to think of society in binary terms.

What place does the maritime domain occupy in Russia’s twenty-first-century global strategy? Post-Soviet Russia, especially in the past two decades, has increasingly looked to the world’s oceans for opportunity, security, and influence. It is driven to do so by a combination of economic need, strategic military concerns, and increased global integration. Furthermore, Moscow’s global power aspirations propel Russia into the maritime domain, and the nation sees its economic future, its national security, and its ability to influence other nations as linked to the world’s oceans. But just as these concerns drive Russia into broader and deeper engagement at sea, so too does it bring Moscow into competition with global rivals, feeding a need to militarise its maritime frontiers. This is reflected in the various maritime strategies published by Moscow over the years, in the wider body of Russian strategic thought, and in Russia’s actual maritime activities. Ultimately, the maritime domain must be understood as occupying a central position in Russia’s strategic future, one that is at least as important as Moscow’s landward efforts.

This chapter examines the challenges of removing Articles Two and Three from the Irish Constitution and how legal perspectives functioned in relation to political objectives. This chapter addresses the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement that was overwhelmingly supported by the Irish population and concludes by looking at Brexit.

This chapter examines how the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation informed approaches to negotiation and looks at how the tensions of North-South relations were played out through Strand Two of the negotiations.

This chapter focuses on the value of text, language and how the Good Friday Agreement was constructed. It explores the role of text in creating momentum and interrogates its function as an instrument of persuasion.

This chapter frames the book’s argument, introducing the core themes. It first sketches out how Russian activity is understood in Euro-Atlantic capitals, particularly the debate over whether Moscow is acting strategically or opportunistically. It then frames Moscow’s view that international affairs are in structural transition and dominated by intensifying geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalry. Senior Russian officials assert growing competition for the global commons and for access to energy resources, transit routes, and markets. Such competition is considered likely to increase during the 2020s and to be a potential cause of conflict. The Russian leadership sees this transition as offering serious risks and also potential benefits, and this view guides Russian strategic thinking and activity. The Russian military has sought to enhance its positions in the “strategically important global areas”. This has been most notable in the Middle East and in parts of Africa, and increasingly visibly in North Africa. Activity in the Indian and Pacific Oceans suggests that Moscow is engaged in establishing a presence there. Moscow seeks to link economic capacity across regions through major infrastructure projects. If Moscow’s prioritisation of the Northern Sea Route – an “Ice Silk Road” – is the most obvious, a number of other ambitious projects seek to link Europe to China and the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) marked itself out as significant for its commitment to ‘the right of women to full and equal participation in political life’. Moreover, some also lauded the relatively high levels of visibility and participation of women within the wider peace process. Although dominant, state-centric forms of conflict transition claim to be universally beneficial, evidence from the so-called ‘post-conflict’ period around the world demonstrates a continuity of violence and inequality for women, with many also facing new forms of violent practices. As a society emerging from protracted armed conflict, Northern Ireland is no exception. This chapter explores the position of women in Northern Ireland today, and by doing so seeks to problematise the ‘post-conflict’ narrative by gendering peace and security. The diverse issues explored here – from women’s political representation to gender-based violence and abortion – are linked and embedded within a structural and cultural gender order which invariably privileges masculinity and male power. The chapter finds that despite the widespread optimism among many feminists and women, what emerged in the place of the promised ‘equalities and inclusions’ agenda of the GFA is in fact an era of ‘neo-patriarchy’. While the GFA did undoubtedly provide the potential for a new era of greater equality between the sexes, more than twenty years on, Northern Irish society exhibits all the trademarks and insidious characteristics of a patriarchal society that has yet to undergo a genuine transformation in gender relations.

The most controversial provision of the Good Friday Agreement was the decision to free all prisoners belonging to paramilitary organisations observing ceasefires. In this chapter, we trace the experience of former combatants released on licence under Northern Ireland’s political settlement. The attempt to move beyond conflict in the region entailed a strategy of ‘Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration’. While the first two of these imperatives have been pursued largely successfully, there have been serious problems with the implementation of the third. Former combatants remain subject to intense vetting which often precludes them from certain jobs, and in so doing leaves them on the margins of Northern Irish society. The multiple ways in which ex-prisoners are stigmatically shamed impacts not only on them but also on their wider family networks. As we illustrate in detail, the current vetting procedures at times ensure that individuals are barred from employment because of their familial connection to former combatants they may never have met. While the success of the Northern Irish peace process required the reintegration of ex-prisoners, the ongoing attempts to stigmatise them means that there are many former paramilitaries who have made a real contribution to maintaining the political settlement, but who have nonetheless been condemned to material poverty and mental illness.

This chapter draws together the strands of the argument across the volume and makes the case for thinking of Moscow’s activity in terms of Grand Strategy rather than ad hoc or opportunistic and short-term moves. It frames the wider international context of globalisation and the “global village” discussion in international security, noting that if the US, NATO, China, and other states have adopted a more global horizon, so has Moscow. The chapter argues further that seeing Russian activity in strategic terms is essential for shaping effective policies for deterrence, defence, and, where possible, dialogue. It will serve to clarify both Moscow’s shifting mental maps (and red lines) in the post-Cold War period and now the era of Great Power Competition.

This chapter details the experiences and efforts of a key political player in the peace process. Importantly, it also explores the role of women in an ostensibly male environment, how decision-making was influenced, how relations were developed, and questions what qualities and differences women brought to the peace process.

This chapter seeks to tease out the complexities and challenges surrounding the issue of legacy in Northern Ireland. In doing so, it argues that Northern Ireland requires a holistic approach whereby state and non-state endeavours work to mutually cooperate and reinforce each other in ways that support practices of social reconciliation and peace-building. While the discussion that follows details a wide range of legacy initiatives, the common thread running throughout is that many of Northern Ireland’s endeavours to address the past, though by no means all, are embedded in processes of assigning culpability and blame, rather than reconciliation and transformation. Thus, although reconciliation is of course contested, the chapter contends that until legacy is reframed as a process that is transformative, conciliatory and mutually beneficial, it will largely remain a communicative platform for expressions of recrimination, mistrust and oppositionality. Seeking truth and confronting the legacy of violence, whether through centralised formal commissions, bottom-up approaches or a combination of both, must be viewed not as a single panacea to legacy but as part of a broad suite of measures which include a discernible link with social reconciliation. While the prospect of dealing with the past and even the establishment of a truth recovery process presents significant challenges, the prospect of a present (and a future) that is continually vexed with regular, fragmented disclosures about the past is equally daunting.

The introduction gives an overview of the areas ied, the people interviewed and the political context that allowed the peace process to develop. It also highlights the importance of inclusivity, compromise, relationships and the dynamics that gave shape and trajectory to the process. Significantly, the introduction identifies the value of relationships and how those relationships came to solidify the aim of achieving peace and ending conflict in Northern Ireland.