1 The Collision of Religion and Politics: The Roots of the Conflict -- 2 Why Politics Failed and Violence Began -- 3 The Rationality of War: The Troubles Generation -- 4 Direct Rule and the Growth of Informal Politics -- 5 Talking to the Enemy: Secret Dialogue Begins -- 6 Bringing the Outside In: The International Dimension -- 7 The Incomplete Agreement: The Good Friday Compromise -- 8 Delivery, Delivery, Delivery: Implementing the Settlement -- 9 Dissenting Voices -- 10 Brexit and Beyond: Rupturing the Peace Process -- 11 Whither Northern Ireland: Birthday Party or Wake?
Summary
The complete history of Northern Ireland from the Irish Civil War to Brexit "A wonderful book, beautifully written. ... Informative and incisive."--Irish Times After two decades of relative peace following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Brexit referendum in 2016 reopened the Northern Ireland question. In this thoughtful and engaging book, Feargal Cochrane considers the region's troubled history from the struggle for Irish independence in the nineteenth century to the present. New chapters explain the reasons for the suspension of devolved government at Stormont in 2017 and its restoration in 2020 as well as the consequences for Northern Ireland of Britain's decision to leave the European Union. Providing a complete account of the province's hundred-year history, this book is essential reading to understand the present dimensions of the Northern Irish conflict
