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Lessons Learned on Trust Building in Northern Ireland

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The Role of Trust in Conflict Resolution

Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

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Abstract

The development of trust between politicians and leaders as part of a peace process is usually seen as an essential, if difficult part of achieving a political agreement. While such trust building between politicians and societal leaders was not completely absent in Northern Ireland, it was usually fleeting in the face of on-going and apparently intractable social and political violence. It was the development of institutions that helped develop trust among and between the wider communities through governmental, security, educational and community institutions that was eventually to prove the critical factor in achieving enough trust in the region to embark upon a sustainable peace process. In addition, the development of ‘bridging’ and ‘linking’ social capital through a more robust and interconnected civil society was also crucial to the eventual development of a political peace deal. Such work provided many necessary conduits for communications between the traditional politicians. In addition it spawned a new breed of community politicians mainly from working class communities, and from women community leaders, who were essential to the eventual peace agreement.

Nothing changes without individuals. Nothing lasts without institutions.

Jean Monnet

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Over 3600 people were killed in the Northern Ireland conflict which lasted almost thirty years. Given that the population of Northern Ireland was only 1.6 million, this was the equivalent of 700,000 dead in the United States. Ten times as many people were injured.

  2. 2.

    When the island was politically divided in 1921, the northern part contained a large minority of Catholic/nationalists who would have preferred to live in a united island of Ireland. For their part, the Protestant/unionist community had fought the division of Ireland, and had succeeded in maintaining the Northern part of the island as part of the United Kingdom. The terms Protestant/Unionist and Catholic/nationalists are often used interchangeably.

  3. 3.

    As part of the Belfast Agreement affirmative action work was mandated to ensure a more equal balance between the communities in the police force (Fitzduff 2002).

  4. 4.

    Many of the regional unionist politicians continued to deny (and some still do despite extensive research on this topic) that significant societal inequalities existed, therefore their absence from the decision-making processes that were to ensure institutions that could help ensure equality and inclusion for Catholics, was critical.

  5. 5.

    In Northern Ireland these were usually common social needs goals in the first instance, and as trust developed, political issues were also addressed.

  6. 6.

    These bodies included the Fair Employment Agency, the NI Housing Executive, The Electoral Commission, the Cultural Traditions Group, and the Police Ombudsmen’s office.

  7. 7.

    This approach was made part of the statutory requirement placed upon most major institutions in 2000, following the Belfast Agreement, not just to address issues of equality, but also issues of ‘good community relations’. This requirement significantly increased the need for organizations to develop their expertise in such integrating work, which has now been mainstreamed into the structures and programs of many of the main institutions in the region.

  8. 8.

    ‘Republicans’ refers to those nationalists who are more strident in their demands for a united Ireland, and often support the use of violence to achieve this. ‘Loyalists’ refers to those most strident about retaining the British link, many of whom will also support violence to achieve it.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brandeis University, Waltham, USA

    Mari Fitzduff

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  1. Mari Fitzduff
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Correspondence to Mari Fitzduff .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Ilai Alon

  2. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Daniel Bar-Tal

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Fitzduff, M. (2016). Lessons Learned on Trust Building in Northern Ireland. In: Alon, I., Bar-Tal, D. (eds) The Role of Trust in Conflict Resolution. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43355-4_4

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