Mike Morrissey & Marie Smyth 
Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement 
Victims, Grievance and Blame

The difficulties that have dogged the Northern Ireland peace process and the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement are rarely out of the headlines. This book gives an insight into one of the issues at stake for the people of Northern Ireland – the long-term impact of political violence on the civil population.



The result of extensive research among local communities, and drawing on survey and interview evidence, Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement sets this issue within the context of past conflict and the continuing sectarian violence of the present. In particular it presents the views of ordinary people about their personal experiences of political violence and the impact it has had upon their lives.



Moreover, it shows how the Troubles have affected the young people of the region, and looks at the problems facing a society coming out of a protracted period of low-intensity conflict.

Table of Content

Preface

1. Putting the Past in its Place. issues of victim-hood and reconciliation in the Northern Ireland peace process

2. The Importance of Place. disaggregating the Troubles

3. A Special Kind of Victim. sectarian killing

4. The Young as Victims

5. Experiencing the Troubles

6. Severe Experience and Extreme Impact of the Troubles

7. The Troubles. The Experiences of Young People

Conclusions; Justice, Truth and Closure

Appendix 1: Constructing a database on sectarian assassination

Appendix 2: Background to the Northern Ireland Survey

Appendix 3: The Cost of the Troubles Study Questionnaire

Appendix 4: The Youth Quest 2000 Questionnaire

About the author

Marie Smyth is an author and academic, who previously held the post of Chair in International Relations at the University of Surrey. An expert on political violence, she is the author of Truth and justice after violent conflict: managing violent pasts (Routledge, 2007), Inside the U D A: Volunteers and Violence (Pluto, 2003), Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement (Pluto, 2002) and Personal Accounts of Northern Ireland’s Troubles (Pluto, 2000).