The Post-Cold War Era, World Opinion, and the Troubles

Abstract

Why did the end of the Cold War provide the conditions for world opinion to be a force in world affairs, particularly in Northern Ireland? What international relations theories can help explain this change? Rusciano answers these questions by linking two schools of thought: the English School of international relations and global opinion theory. Both theories deal with the influence of “international society” on global relations; the latter is used to provide specific details of how world opinion came to be a force defining the society’s boundaries. After the Cold War, world opinion ceases to be a mere East/West propaganda tool and becomes a moral and pragmatic force backed up by its ability to isolate nations and individuals from an international community. In an increasingly globalized world system, isolation can have dramatic economic and political effects. These effects helped alter the opportunities for peace in Northern Ireland.