Northern Irish Political Futures before the Good Friday Agreement

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The main question this project will focus on is - in what ways did Ulster Unionist and Loyalist actors think about Northern Ireland's future during The Troubles and how did these ideas about the future influence the peace process?The project will be a political and intellectual history of how Unionists thought in new and creative ways about a settlement for Northern Ireland and how these developments contributed to the Good Friday Agreement. It will assess how this development in Unionist thought explored new forms of Unionist identity, new relationships across communities and Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom. This project is significant for two reasons. First, no historical study has looked at Unionist political thought and analysed the way in which Unionist thought developed during The Troubles and contributed to the peace process and Good Friday Agreement. This study will therefore explore an important gap in the existing literature and develop a greater understanding in Unionism and its contribution to the Northern Ireland peace process. Second, Unionists still need to respond to ongoing questions about Northern Ireland's political future. This study will therefore aim to bring a historical understanding to current political debates about Northern Ireland's future.Research context, significance and questionsThis study can make an original and valuable contribution to the existing historiography and to our understanding of Unionism. Unionist political actors and Unionist thought are often misunderstood and characterised as 'irrational and backward' (English, 1996) and seen as 'unintellectual' (McBride, 1996). This project will challenge mischaracterisations of Unionism by analysing instances of innovation in Unionist political thought which made important contributions to the Northern Ireland peace process. The project will contribute to the historiography of Irish history and political thought in the UK and Ireland; will explore new ground about the role that Unionism played towards the peace process.The existing literature on Unionism and Unionist political thought has a strong focus on religious and political identities, and the constitutional thought of Unionists with several key publications being by Alvin Jackson, Steve Bruce and Richard Bourke.However, two key aspects are missing from these works and the wider literature. First, there is currently no in-depth analysis of how Unionist thought developed throughout The Troubles, and envisioned new political futures which shaped the peace process. Second, there is a wealth of primary material at the Linen Hall Library and at the Public Records Office in Northern Ireland which remains under-used. This project will therefore contribute to the existing historiography by taking an original perspective and making use of previously unreleased documents.This project will explore the following research questionst: What were the different motivations and values which underpinned Unionist proposals for future settlements for Ulster? In what ways did Unionists articulate new relationships between Unionists and Nationalists, between Ulster and the UK and Ulster and Ireland? Including new ideas about pluralist and inclusive versions of Unionism? In what ways did Unionist and Loyalist visions for a future Ulster differ? How did the developments in identities and Unionist thought contribute to the peace process? Research methods This project will analyse a range of secondary and archival sources to answer the above research questions. The primary source of material will come from the Linen Hall Library in Belfast which maintains a large archive of relevant material about The Troubles, lots of which has remained under-used in historical research. I will also use materials held at PRONI, the British Library and conduct oral history interviews where appropriate.