Human Rights and the Northern Ireland Conflict ― Law, Politics and Conflict, 1921-2014

This interdisciplinary book explores the Northern Ireland conflict, from 1921-2014, utilising a human rights framework of analysis.

The study addresses two related questions:

1) the extent to which, and ways in which, human rights influenced the Northern Ireland conflict in its various phases (pre-conflict, during conflict and post-conflict); and

2) how the conflict in Northern Ireland influenced the understanding of human rights within Northern Ireland with specific reference to the two main political traditions (i.e. unionism and nationalism).

In order to respond to these questions, the Northern Ireland conflict is examined using human rights as the framework of analysis. This examination is conducted in a chronological fashion, commencing from the creation of the Northern Ireland state in 1921 and terminating in 2014. This relatively long time-frame allows for an analysis of how human rights impacted upon the conflict in its broadest understanding (i.e. the pre-violent conflict phase, the violent conflict phase and the post-violent conflict phase) and also allows for a better understanding of how the various stages of conflict impacted upon how human rights are understood and practised in Northern Ireland today.

The book's main findings are that: (i) human rights had an impact, sometimes significant, on the development of the conflict and on specific episodes in the Northern Irish conflict in its various stages; (ii) human rights violations were both underlying causes and direct causes of the descent into violence; (iii) the conflict coloured the view of human rights held by the main political actors; and (iv) human rights continue to be understood, at least partially, through the prism of the conflict.

This book will be of much interest to students of human rights, conflict resolution, British politics, law and security studies.