Northern Irish Political Futures before the Good Friday Agreement

这个项目将关注的主要问题是：阿尔斯特统一党和保皇党在北爱尔兰问题期间是如何看待北爱尔兰的未来的，以及这些关于未来的想法是如何影响和平进程的？该项目将是一部政治和思想史，讲述联合主义者如何以新的和创造性的方式思考北爱尔兰的解决方案，以及这些发展如何促成了《耶稣受难日协议》。它将评估统一主义思想的发展如何探索统一主义身份的新形式、跨社区的新关系以及北爱尔兰在联合王国的地位。这个项目之所以重要，有两个原因。首先，没有历史研究关注过统一派的政治思想，也没有分析过统一派思想在北爱尔兰动乱期间的发展方式，以及对和平进程和《耶稣受难日协议》的贡献。因此，本研究将探索现有文献中的一个重要空白，并对统一主义及其对北爱尔兰和平进程的贡献有更深入的了解。其次，统一党仍然需要回应有关北爱尔兰政治未来的持续问题。因此，这项研究旨在为当前关于北爱尔兰未来的政治辩论带来历史理解。研究背景、意义与问题本研究对现有的史学研究和我们对工会主义的认识都有独到而有价值的贡献。统一党政治角色和统一党思想经常被误解，并被描述为“非理性和落后”（English, 1996），并被视为“不聪明”（McBride, 1996）。该项目将通过分析对北爱尔兰和平进程作出重要贡献的统一主义政治思想的创新实例，挑战对统一主义的错误描述。该项目将有助于爱尔兰的历史和政治思想在英国和爱尔兰的史学；将探索联合主义在和平进程中所起作用的新领域。关于联合主义和联合主义政治思想的现有文献强烈关注宗教和政治身份，以及联合主义者的宪法思想，其中一些重要出版物是由阿尔文·杰克逊，史蒂夫·布鲁斯和理查德·伯克出版的。然而，这些作品和更广泛的文献缺少两个关键方面。首先，目前没有深入分析统一党思想是如何在整个动乱中发展的，以及如何设想塑造和平进程的新政治未来。其次，在亚麻布厅图书馆和北爱尔兰公共记录办公室有大量的原始材料，这些材料尚未得到充分利用。因此，该项目将通过采用原始视角和利用以前未发布的文件，为现有的史学做出贡献。这个项目将探讨以下的研究问题：什么是不同的动机和价值观，支持联合主义者对阿尔斯特未来解决方案的建议？统一党以何种方式阐明了统一党与民族主义者、阿尔斯特与英国、阿尔斯特与爱尔兰之间的新关系？包括关于工会主义的多元和包容版本的新思想？统一派和保皇派对未来阿尔斯特的愿景有哪些不同？身份认同和统一党思想的发展对和平进程有何贡献？研究方法本项目将分析一系列二手和档案资料来回答上述研究问题。材料的主要来源将来自贝尔法斯特的亚麻布大厅图书馆，该图书馆保存了大量关于“麻烦”的相关材料，其中许多在历史研究中仍未得到充分利用。我也会使用PRONI，大英图书馆的资料，并在适当的时候进行口述历史采访。

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.