This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies and uses them to frame traditional historical analyses of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. The ultimate goal of this paper is to integrate traditional history and contemporary theories in peace and conflict studies in order to explain the transformation of the conflict in Northern Ireland, thereby providing a basis to better grasp its current sociopolitical reality.
","abstract_html":"<p> This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand <em>why</em> and <em>how</em> Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies and uses them to frame traditional historical analyses of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. The ultimate goal of this paper is to integrate traditional history and contemporary theories in peace and conflict studies in order to explain the <em>transformation</em> of the conflict in Northern Ireland, thereby providing a basis to better grasp its current sociopolitical reality.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wiepking, Ruairi"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in International Studies","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"International Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. George Gmelch"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-12-16T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-12-16T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:35Z","subjects":["Political Conflict","Northern Ireland","IRA","Terrorism","Conflict Transformation","Media","Diplomatic History","European History","Political History","Political Theory","Social and Cultural Anthropology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/13","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. George Gmelch"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wiepking, Ruairi"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2012-01-23T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in International Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Political Conflict","Northern Ireland","IRA","Terrorism","Conflict Transformation","Media","Diplomatic History","European History","Political History","Political Theory","Social and Cultural Anthropology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/13"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies and uses them to frame traditional historical analyses of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. The ultimate goal of this paper is to integrate traditional history and contemporary theories in peace and conflict studies in order to explain the transformation of the conflict in Northern Ireland, thereby providing a basis to better grasp its current sociopolitical reality.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Path to Peace: Conflict Theory and Northern Ireland’s Troubles (1968-1998)"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. George Gmelch"],"dc:creator":["Wiepking, Ruairi"],"dc:date.available":["2012-01-23T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper is a qualitative historical analysis of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. Over a period of approximately thirty years, sectarian violence in Northern Ireland dominated the headlines of newspapers in both the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite this violent history, Northern Ireland has enjoyed relative peace and stability since the passage of the Belfast Agreement in 1998. This paper aims to better understand why and how Northern Ireland endured a generation of brutal sectarian violence and emerged into a new era of peace and mutual understanding. In doing so, this paper incorporates theories from peace and conflict studies and uses them to frame traditional historical analyses of Northern Ireland’s Troubles. The ultimate goal of this paper is to integrate traditional history and contemporary theories in peace and conflict studies in order to explain the transformation of the conflict in Northern Ireland, thereby providing a basis to better grasp its current sociopolitical reality.
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