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‘Peace Within the Realms of the Possible’? The Performance of Political Change

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Performing the Northern Ireland Peace Process

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Abstract

David Trimble, the leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (1995–2005), had what could be described as a ‘Damascene’ conversion from hardliner (1995) to champion of the Belfast Agreement (1998). The UUP leader mounted a Conservative Realist defence of the Agreement against hard line Idealists in the Democratic Unionist Party who attacked him for deceit, hypocrisy and betrayal. He also defended himself from attacks by nationalists and civic unionists who accused him of not selling the BFA, for having an incoherent and contradictory ideology and for being sectarian. This chapter uses a theatrical metaphor to make a more explicitly Realist defence of Trimble’s leadership by looking beyond the sound and fury of the propaganda war fought out on the front of the political stage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK

    Paul Dixon

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  1. Paul Dixon
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Correspondence to Paul Dixon .

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Dixon, P. (2019). ‘Peace Within the Realms of the Possible’? The Performance of Political Change. In: Performing the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91343-8_8

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