Popular in Social Sciences

Political Science

V-Dem’s Conceptions of Democracy and Their Consequences

University of Notre Dame Michael Coppedge

Central Monetary Authorities

Macroeconomic modelling of CBDC: a critical review

European Central Bank Ulrich Bindseil

Social Identities and Divisions

A new explanation of antisemitism: Jew hatred as a civilisational phenomenon

Boston University Liah Greenfeld

Central Monetary Authorities

Financing Private Credit

Federal Reserve Bank of New York Nina Boyarchenko

Economics

Failing Banks

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Emil Verner

Culture and Society

The City as a Growth Machine: Toward a Political Economy of Place

New York University Harvey Moltoch

American Politics

Stories of Gender Inclusion, Power-Sharing and the Good Friday Agreement

View more insights in Social Sciences - Political Science - Politics and Gender

View more figures from University of Alberta

View the page of Siobhan Byrne

Read the Study

Next in Political Science

The Liberalism of Refuge

Bryan Garsten | Yale University

Do Billboard Advertisements Increase Voter Turnout?

Donald Green | Columbia University

Siobhan Byrne discusses the ups and downs of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing institutions in the context of feminist peace activism over two and a half decades and offer a set of feminist reflections on the promise and peril of power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

Image courtesy of interviewee. March 27, 2024

Log-in or Sign-up to Faculti
Currently viewing this subject insight as a guest. You have insight(s) remaining for this month. Login to view 8000+ figures on the platform.

Generating Workspace...

Export as PDF

This video discusses the significance of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, signed in 1998 to end the conflict known as "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland, which lasted for 30 years and claimed over 3,700 lives. The agreement established a power-sharing government between the nationalist community, seeking a united Ireland, and the unionist community, wanting to remain part of the United Kingdom. This video reflects on the current political challenges in Northern Ireland, noting that the assembly created from the agreement was suspended for a significant portion of its existence due to political disputes, such as those arising from Brexit.

The author highlights the importance of the Good Friday Agreement as a case study in power-sharing and conflict resolution, noting its potential lessons for similar situations globally. The involvement of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition, an all-women political party that contributed to the peace talks, is emphasized, illustrating how women's voices can influence political processes. This video coalition ensured commitments to human rights and equality were part of the peace agreement.

This video transitions to examine the power-sharing model's limitations, especially post-agreement, where voting along ethno-national lines diminished the influence of more inclusive political parties like the Women's Coalition. Observations are made on the successes in advocating for human rights but also the challenges arising from an increasingly polarized political environment.

The narrative further connects to broader contexts of conflict resolution, indicating that power-sharing frameworks must include diverse communities beyond ethno-national identities to achieve true equality and representation. Additionally, the author reflects on contemporary conflicts, such as in Afghanistan, and argues that lessons from Northern Ireland emphasize the necessity for mediation and inclusion in peace settlements, particularly regarding women's roles and rights in political frameworks. The conclusion calls for a re-evaluation of current conflicts, advocating for dialogue and inclusive approaches to foster lasting peace, identified as a "feminist peace."

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:90000

1
00:00:00.155 --> 00:00:02.965
Last year marked the 25 year anniversary

2
00:00:03.065 --> 00:00:05.405
of the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland.

3
00:00:06.065 --> 00:00:09.165
Um, that was an agreement that was signed in 1998,

4
00:00:09.625 --> 00:00:13.165
and it ended 30 years of conflict, which is called,

5
00:00:13.165 --> 00:00:15.045
sometimes referred to as the troubles.

6
00:00:15.465 --> 00:00:18.405
Um, the conflict was largely between,

7
00:00:18.765 --> 00:00:21.885
nationalist community that was fighting oppressive British

8
00:00:22.035 --> 00:00:24.685
rule and desired a United Ireland

9
00:00:25.345 --> 00:00:29.165
and a unionist community that wished to maintain ties with,

10
00:00:29.505 --> 00:00:33.165
preserve the connection to the United Kingdom,

11
00:00:33.235 --> 00:00:35.365
political connection to the United Kingdom.

12
00:00:36.105 --> 00:00:38.525
So this agreement was quite extraordinary.

13
00:00:38.905 --> 00:00:42.205
Um, in that time, in the 30 years, you know,

14
00:00:42.515 --> 00:00:44.845
over 3,700 people had been killed.

15
00:00:45.305 --> 00:00:47.485
So it was, quite an exciting time

16
00:00:47.485 --> 00:00:49.485
that an agreement was signed,

17
00:00:49.625 --> 00:00:54.565
and one in which would install a new, political reality,

18
00:00:55.225 --> 00:00:56.965
where both nationalists

19
00:00:56.965 --> 00:01:00.965
and unionists would share power in a post agreement,

20
00:01:01.365 --> 00:01:03.285
a pol political institution.

21
00:01:04.585 --> 00:01:07.685
So, an anniversaries like these, of course,

22
00:01:07.905 --> 00:01:10.645
are opportunities to reflect on the legacies of war

23
00:01:10.985 --> 00:01:12.405
and conflict and peace.

24
00:01:12.905 --> 00:01:15.805
And it was a bit of a strange anniversary last year

25
00:01:15.805 --> 00:01:19.485
because the Northern Ireland assembly, the government

26
00:01:19.795 --> 00:01:21.725
that had been created as a result

27
00:01:21.725 --> 00:01:24.245
of the Good Friday agreement was suspended.

28
00:01:24.945 --> 00:01:27.205
So, in the context of

29
00:01:27.205 --> 00:01:29.725
that suspension has us thinking about, you know,

30
00:01:29.725 --> 00:01:32.525
what are the legacies of the Belfast agreement?

31
00:01:32.915 --> 00:01:36.085
What are the lessons that we might learn for other instances

32
00:01:36.185 --> 00:01:38.445
of conflict resolution and so forth.

33
00:01:39.465 --> 00:01:43.005
So the, the, the Assembly now is no longer,

34
00:01:43.395 --> 00:01:47.245
suspended only just so, the parties have agreed

35
00:01:47.245 --> 00:01:51.685
to share power again, the last suspension was, a boycott

36
00:01:51.685 --> 00:01:56.525
by the Democratic Unionist party over, the post Brexit,

37
00:01:56.945 --> 00:01:59.725
economic and trade borders, where they would go

38
00:02:00.045 --> 00:02:01.925
'cause borders, like those are,

39
00:02:02.075 --> 00:02:03.685
also political borders as well.

40
00:02:03.785 --> 00:02:07.685
So they have agreed to return, to, to share power.

41
00:02:08.105 --> 00:02:09.805
Though, you know, this,

42
00:02:09.805 --> 00:02:13.885
political assembly has been suspended for something like 40%

43
00:02:13.885 --> 00:02:16.565
of the time since it was created in 1998.

44
00:02:17.105 --> 00:02:20.725
So it hasn't been, there, there has been a, a,

45
00:02:20.865 --> 00:02:22.885
it has been a period of, of peace

46
00:02:23.065 --> 00:02:25.925
and a set of political processes that are in place in order

47
00:02:25.925 --> 00:02:28.245
to deal with, deep divisions

48
00:02:28.245 --> 00:02:29.525
between the different parties.

49
00:02:29.945 --> 00:02:31.245
But it has also been one

50
00:02:31.245 --> 00:02:33.565
that has been quite bumpy along the way.

51
00:02:34.545 --> 00:02:38.365
Um, so I'm, you know, I'm interested in thinking about

52
00:02:38.825 --> 00:02:42.445
how we understand the legacy of the Good Friday agreement

53
00:02:42.665 --> 00:02:44.845
and what we might apply for other kinds of cases.

54
00:02:45.505 --> 00:02:47.365
So in the power sharing literature,

55
00:02:47.645 --> 00:02:51.925
Northern Ireland stands out as an archetypal case of,

56
00:02:52.235 --> 00:02:55.325
effective, conflict resolution,

57
00:02:55.345 --> 00:02:56.965
for power sharing scholars.

58
00:02:57.225 --> 00:02:58.885
Um, it performed what

59
00:02:58.965 --> 00:03:01.605
Brendan O'Leary calls a kind of necessary triage.

60
00:03:01.945 --> 00:03:03.285
It ended the conflict

61
00:03:03.305 --> 00:03:07.325
and created opportunities to have, to, to make,

62
00:03:07.525 --> 00:03:09.725
a new political reality possible.

63
00:03:10.425 --> 00:03:12.205
And in the feminist peace literature,

64
00:03:12.505 --> 00:03:15.325
the Good Friday agreement is lauded as well,

65
00:03:15.325 --> 00:03:19.525
because it had this unique all women's political party

66
00:03:19.555 --> 00:03:22.325
that participated in the peace talks that led

67
00:03:22.325 --> 00:03:23.885
to the Good Friday agreement, the signing

68
00:03:23.905 --> 00:03:26.285
of the Peace Agreement in 1998.

69
00:03:26.785 --> 00:03:29.085
And for feminist Peace scholars,

70
00:03:29.085 --> 00:03:31.845
they're interested in thinking about the contribution that

71
00:03:31.845 --> 00:03:34.245
that party made, to the conflict

72
00:03:34.305 --> 00:03:37.125
and how it might be possible to replicate,

73
00:03:37.235 --> 00:03:38.365
that contribution

74
00:03:38.425 --> 00:03:41.365
or some of the, what we learn from the difference

75
00:03:41.365 --> 00:03:45.005
that having that, that party at the peace toxin in,

76
00:03:45.065 --> 00:03:47.285
the first post, conflict government.

77
00:03:47.635 --> 00:03:50.485
What, what, what difference that might make and,

78
00:03:50.505 --> 00:03:54.325
and what might be, you know, lessons for other, other kinds

79
00:03:54.565 --> 00:03:55.685
of cases as well.

80
00:03:56.715 --> 00:03:59.375
Um, may I'll say a little bit about the

81
00:03:59.445 --> 00:04:00.575
origins of the project.

82
00:04:01.205 --> 00:04:02.935
Both myself and friend

83
00:04:02.955 --> 00:04:06.015
and colleague Alison McCullough have been thinking about the

84
00:04:06.015 --> 00:04:08.495
relationship between power sharing and the gender

85
00:04:08.555 --> 00:04:09.615
and peace literature

86
00:04:09.635 --> 00:04:11.455
and feminist security studies literature.

87
00:04:11.875 --> 00:04:15.135
It was in 2015,

88
00:04:15.625 --> 00:04:19.095
which was another anniversary actually, of the passage

89
00:04:19.475 --> 00:04:21.615
of United Nations Security Council,

90
00:04:21.975 --> 00:04:25.095
resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security.

91
00:04:25.115 --> 00:04:27.055
It was a 15 year anniversary then,

92
00:04:27.315 --> 00:04:29.495
and the two of us were at the International Studies

93
00:04:29.685 --> 00:04:31.455
Association annual meeting.

94
00:04:32.075 --> 00:04:36.495
Um, and we were, I, you know, I was attending some

95
00:04:36.495 --> 00:04:38.415
of the power sharing panels with, with Allison,

96
00:04:39.035 --> 00:04:41.575
and they were all held in the,

97
00:04:42.265 --> 00:04:45.735
grand ballrooms in the basement of, of the, the lovely hotel

98
00:04:45.735 --> 00:04:47.055
that the ISA was held at.

99
00:04:47.435 --> 00:04:49.815
And Allison came with me to the women peace

100
00:04:49.815 --> 00:04:54.455
and Security panels, which were largely held in the,

101
00:04:54.615 --> 00:04:57.775
bedrooms on the top floors of, of the hotel.

102
00:04:58.275 --> 00:04:59.695
So the two of us were riding up

103
00:04:59.695 --> 00:05:02.095
and down the elevator attending each other's panels.

104
00:05:02.355 --> 00:05:04.495
And it struck us that, you know, we were,

105
00:05:04.505 --> 00:05:08.855
these were two very different kinds of scholars, groups

106
00:05:08.975 --> 00:05:10.735
of scholars working on

107
00:05:10.735 --> 00:05:13.015
what were actually very similar kinds of cases.

108
00:05:13.435 --> 00:05:15.975
So Northern Ireland stood out for, those

109
00:05:15.975 --> 00:05:17.215
who were working on the women peace

110
00:05:17.215 --> 00:05:19.455
and security agenda to think about, well,

111
00:05:19.455 --> 00:05:21.095
look at the difference that,

112
00:05:21.115 --> 00:05:23.815
the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, that political party

113
00:05:24.045 --> 00:05:28.135
that participated in the talks in Northern Ireland, made to,

114
00:05:28.275 --> 00:05:29.295
the peace agreement.

115
00:05:29.595 --> 00:05:31.695
How can we take some of that,

116
00:05:31.795 --> 00:05:35.175
and integrate it into this new UN resolution on

117
00:05:35.175 --> 00:05:36.415
women peace and security?

118
00:05:37.475 --> 00:05:39.455
Um, and so they were thinking about Northern Ireland,

119
00:05:39.555 --> 00:05:42.175
but so too, where the power sharing scholars about the

120
00:05:42.175 --> 00:05:44.655
lessons about what has worked with power sharing, what kinds

121
00:05:44.655 --> 00:05:48.895
of institutions are necessary in order to ensure that,

122
00:05:49.075 --> 00:05:52.975
you don't have a kind of majoritarian, government

123
00:05:53.005 --> 00:05:55.775
that, that leaves out,

124
00:05:56.085 --> 00:05:59.845
very large minority communities and is quite unstable

125
00:05:59.945 --> 00:06:01.565
and can be quite violent as well.

126
00:06:01.865 --> 00:06:03.725
So the two of us began in that moment

127
00:06:03.825 --> 00:06:04.965
as we were traveling up

128
00:06:04.965 --> 00:06:07.765
and down the elevator to think about the relationship

129
00:06:07.765 --> 00:06:10.045
between women peace and security and power sharing.

130
00:06:10.345 --> 00:06:12.725
And that is really the origin of our project.

131
00:06:13.585 --> 00:06:17.565
Uh, right now, we were just finishing up a book on,

132
00:06:17.655 --> 00:06:21.805
developing a feminist theory of power sharing for University

133
00:06:21.805 --> 00:06:24.365
of Toronto Press, which looks at some

134
00:06:24.365 --> 00:06:26.765
of those archetypal cases of power sharing,

135
00:06:26.795 --> 00:06:30.245
like Northern Ireland, like in Bosnia, and,

136
00:06:30.545 --> 00:06:32.845
and thinks through what,

137
00:06:33.755 --> 00:06:37.605
what we might learn from those cases, in order

138
00:06:37.665 --> 00:06:41.645
to develop a feminist theory of power sharing that might be,

139
00:06:42.025 --> 00:06:45.405
a way of thinking about new types

140
00:06:45.545 --> 00:06:47.205
of political institutions

141
00:06:47.585 --> 00:06:51.565
and new kinds of transformations for the sorts of conflicts

142
00:06:51.565 --> 00:06:55.805
that we're seeing today, like in Ukraine, like, in,

143
00:06:55.945 --> 00:06:57.405
in Gaza and so forth.

144
00:06:58.025 --> 00:07:00.805
The Good Friday agreement was signed in 1998,

145
00:07:01.505 --> 00:07:05.805
and, it had this really unique electoral formula,

146
00:07:06.385 --> 00:07:08.165
in order to ensure

147
00:07:08.315 --> 00:07:11.765
that even very small political parties would be,

148
00:07:12.685 --> 00:07:14.085
represented in the peace talks

149
00:07:14.085 --> 00:07:15.325
that would lead to a final agreement.

150
00:07:15.625 --> 00:07:19.645
So in 1996, they had the elections to the Peace talks,

151
00:07:19.645 --> 00:07:22.005
which were quite, it was quite interesting.

152
00:07:22.505 --> 00:07:27.445
Um, and a group of feminist activists, trade unionists,

153
00:07:27.655 --> 00:07:32.565
civil society organizers, people with a background in,

154
00:07:32.575 --> 00:07:35.845
civil rights organizing, saw this as an opportunity.

155
00:07:35.955 --> 00:07:38.005
They thought there are elections.

156
00:07:38.385 --> 00:07:39.685
Why don't we form a party

157
00:07:39.865 --> 00:07:42.405
and see if we can get elected to the talks as well?

158
00:07:42.825 --> 00:07:45.565
Now, the idea of having elections to the talks was to ensure

159
00:07:45.565 --> 00:07:48.125
that even very small,

160
00:07:48.355 --> 00:07:50.925
sectarian parties would be represented there,

161
00:07:50.925 --> 00:07:55.565
because the idea of the talks was to ensure broad inclusion

162
00:07:55.955 --> 00:07:58.645
that, you needed to everybody to talk

163
00:07:58.645 --> 00:08:00.805
to each other if you were going to secure a piece.

164
00:08:01.185 --> 00:08:04.965
So these feminists, thought this is our opportunity,

165
00:08:05.035 --> 00:08:07.565
perhaps to form a party as well

166
00:08:07.665 --> 00:08:09.285
and get elected to the talks.

167
00:08:09.825 --> 00:08:13.285
And they were led by, it was a,

168
00:08:13.605 --> 00:08:17.085
a cross community group, co-founded

169
00:08:17.225 --> 00:08:18.885
by Monica McWilliams,

170
00:08:19.625 --> 00:08:22.365
and, co-led with Pearl Seger as well.

171
00:08:22.665 --> 00:08:25.605
So Monica represented the nationalist community,

172
00:08:25.625 --> 00:08:28.525
and Pearl represented largely the unionist community.

173
00:08:29.145 --> 00:08:32.605
And, they took this opportunity in like six weeks

174
00:08:32.605 --> 00:08:36.645
leading up to the talks to form a party to begin canvassing.

175
00:08:36.945 --> 00:08:38.965
And incredibly, quite improbably.

176
00:08:38.965 --> 00:08:42.405
They got elected to, to the 1996 talks.

177
00:08:43.065 --> 00:08:45.045
Now, they didn't just sort of spring out of nowhere.

178
00:08:45.385 --> 00:08:47.445
As I said, you know, members

179
00:08:47.465 --> 00:08:49.725
of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Party,

180
00:08:50.145 --> 00:08:51.525
had a background.

181
00:08:51.555 --> 00:08:54.605
Some members had a background in trade union activism had a

182
00:08:54.605 --> 00:08:57.045
background in, the Civil Rights movement

183
00:08:57.065 --> 00:08:59.405
and feminist organizing and so forth.

184
00:09:00.225 --> 00:09:01.325
And, indeed,

185
00:09:01.325 --> 00:09:04.365
Monica McWilliams has written recently an autobiography

186
00:09:04.505 --> 00:09:07.085
called, titled as Stand Up Speak Out,

187
00:09:07.175 --> 00:09:10.405
where she describes the experience of, of,

188
00:09:10.765 --> 00:09:12.565
feminist organizing in Northern Ireland.

189
00:09:13.225 --> 00:09:18.205
And it was, she, she recalls it organizing a conference

190
00:09:18.265 --> 00:09:21.925
before, the, election to the Peace Talks

191
00:09:22.215 --> 00:09:23.925
where she brought together, you know,

192
00:09:23.925 --> 00:09:26.165
over 200 women from across Northern Ireland,

193
00:09:26.265 --> 00:09:31.005
and they were reflecting on, on the un

194
00:09:31.545 --> 00:09:34.885
Beijing Platform for action, which,

195
00:09:35.065 --> 00:09:37.005
was signed in 1995

196
00:09:37.105 --> 00:09:40.165
and set an agenda for gender mainstreaming

197
00:09:40.545 --> 00:09:43.245
and, you know, in conflict resolution,

198
00:09:43.265 --> 00:09:45.885
but in, in all aspects of, of politics as well.

199
00:09:46.185 --> 00:09:49.645
And the idea, I think, as I understand it, was to sort

200
00:09:49.645 --> 00:09:51.325
of bring Beijing home

201
00:09:51.385 --> 00:09:52.885
and to think about the lessons

202
00:09:52.955 --> 00:09:54.205
from Beijing for Northern Ireland.

203
00:09:54.385 --> 00:09:57.125
So the Beijing platform for action is 1995.

204
00:09:57.645 --> 00:09:59.685
Elections to the Peace Talks are 1996.

205
00:09:59.905 --> 00:10:02.685
So you've got this kind of base of, feminists

206
00:10:02.685 --> 00:10:05.715
that are already working on political questions.

207
00:10:05.975 --> 00:10:07.795
So they get elected to the peace talks

208
00:10:08.335 --> 00:10:12.395
and, they were there with a mandate,

209
00:10:13.365 --> 00:10:16.515
which was one, to not settle the constitutional question

210
00:10:16.605 --> 00:10:20.155
among them, but one that was going to bring a commitment

211
00:10:20.155 --> 00:10:21.915
to human rights, equality,

212
00:10:22.175 --> 00:10:24.195
and inclusion in those peace talks.

213
00:10:24.535 --> 00:10:27.675
And they were, successful in ensuring

214
00:10:27.675 --> 00:10:31.115
that there would be world class commitments to human rights.

215
00:10:31.135 --> 00:10:33.915
The Human Rights Commission guaranteed in the Good Friday

216
00:10:33.915 --> 00:10:37.995
agreement and a Quality commission as well, calls

217
00:10:38.015 --> 00:10:39.155
for a bill of rights.

218
00:10:39.245 --> 00:10:41.955
There was a civic forum that, they were able

219
00:10:41.955 --> 00:10:43.155
to put on the agenda.

220
00:10:43.855 --> 00:10:47.995
So that kind of experience, it was quite interesting.

221
00:10:48.135 --> 00:10:52.235
It, it is one that, we can't say

222
00:10:52.345 --> 00:10:54.915
that it is really the theory of power sharing

223
00:10:55.055 --> 00:10:57.595
and the practice of power sharing that helped ensure

224
00:10:57.595 --> 00:10:59.475
that women got, a voice

225
00:10:59.895 --> 00:11:00.755
and the Northern Ireland

226
00:11:00.755 --> 00:11:02.155
Women's Coalition got elected there.

227
00:11:02.215 --> 00:11:05.955
It was quite accidental, that, that they managed

228
00:11:06.015 --> 00:11:07.675
to find themselves at that table.

229
00:11:08.055 --> 00:11:12.235
But what it is instructive for is how those ideas

230
00:11:12.375 --> 00:11:14.555
around inclusion and equality

231
00:11:14.895 --> 00:11:17.475
and human rights are the kinds of ideas,

232
00:11:17.735 --> 00:11:19.635
the normative commitments that are part of

233
00:11:19.635 --> 00:11:23.915
what power sharing as mode of democratic governance,

234
00:11:24.145 --> 00:11:25.835
also, promotes.

235
00:11:26.215 --> 00:11:29.995
So we can kind of see a relationship both to,

236
00:11:29.995 --> 00:11:32.035
power sharing modes of government, as well

237
00:11:32.055 --> 00:11:34.515
as this commitment to broader base inclusion.

238
00:11:35.365 --> 00:11:39.795
Power sharing, in essence, is an idea where it's,

239
00:11:40.155 --> 00:11:43.315
a way in which, you can form government

240
00:11:43.525 --> 00:11:46.595
where the largest communities are represented

241
00:11:46.655 --> 00:11:47.795
in that government.

242
00:11:48.055 --> 00:11:49.755
It is not a authoritarian government,

243
00:11:49.755 --> 00:11:51.635
which can be quite oppressive

244
00:11:51.695 --> 00:11:55.485
and can be indeed quite dangerous for minority communities.

245
00:11:55.945 --> 00:11:58.685
So power sharing is the logic that you need all,

246
00:11:58.825 --> 00:12:01.285
you need the major communities that are represented in,

247
00:12:01.465 --> 00:12:04.085
in political, government and political life, indeed.

248
00:12:04.745 --> 00:12:07.165
Um, but the power sharing literature tends

249
00:12:07.165 --> 00:12:08.445
to understand community

250
00:12:08.445 --> 00:12:12.365
and inclusion in terms of ethno national identity.

251
00:12:12.705 --> 00:12:16.605
So it tends to focus on, when it thinks about broad base,

252
00:12:16.705 --> 00:12:19.645
the broad representation of communities, it tends

253
00:12:19.645 --> 00:12:22.565
to focus on those ethnicized communities.

254
00:12:23.065 --> 00:12:26.525
Um, and indeed it might by creating conditions

255
00:12:26.525 --> 00:12:27.845
where those communities are then

256
00:12:28.485 --> 00:12:29.725
represented in political government.

257
00:12:30.305 --> 00:12:34.005
Um, it's, it entrenches, that kind of,

258
00:12:34.225 --> 00:12:36.125
way in which politics operate.

259
00:12:36.865 --> 00:12:40.485
So in, in the post agreement period, then,

260
00:12:40.745 --> 00:12:44.005
the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition begins to fade away

261
00:12:44.025 --> 00:12:45.845
as communities begin to vote,

262
00:12:45.875 --> 00:12:47.845
then along ethno national lines,

263
00:12:47.845 --> 00:12:50.725
because those are the parties that are, more likely to,

264
00:12:51.025 --> 00:12:55.525
have political power in order to, you know, transform,

265
00:12:55.745 --> 00:12:58.405
unequal conditions in communities and so forth.

266
00:12:59.105 --> 00:13:02.845
Uh, and, and what it has meant then that is that, there,

267
00:13:02.845 --> 00:13:04.005
there have been these, you know,

268
00:13:04.005 --> 00:13:07.645
important equality measures in the post agreement period,

269
00:13:08.145 --> 00:13:10.805
but there have also been a lot of tr there's also been a lot

270
00:13:10.805 --> 00:13:13.805
of trouble and limits on the kinds of imaginings

271
00:13:13.805 --> 00:13:14.805
or the kinds of change

272
00:13:14.915 --> 00:13:17.485
that the feminist activists had hoped to see.

273
00:13:17.945 --> 00:13:19.965
And indeed, some of the most progressive changes

274
00:13:20.035 --> 00:13:22.045
that have happened in Northern Ireland in the post agreement

275
00:13:22.045 --> 00:13:24.485
period have been one that have happened

276
00:13:24.745 --> 00:13:26.605
during those periods of suspension.

277
00:13:26.605 --> 00:13:30.925
That 40% of the time, just as an example,

278
00:13:31.745 --> 00:13:34.445
the, decriminalization of abortion

279
00:13:34.545 --> 00:13:37.925
and marriage equality were both,

280
00:13:38.155 --> 00:13:41.405
made possible when the Northern Ireland Power sharing

281
00:13:41.765 --> 00:13:43.285
assembly was suspended,

282
00:13:43.305 --> 00:13:45.565
and there was direct rule from Westminster,

283
00:13:45.825 --> 00:13:48.325
and that's when legislation was passed in order

284
00:13:48.345 --> 00:13:50.445
to ensure those kinds of equality measures.

285
00:13:51.145 --> 00:13:55.085
So, I think that means then that there are,

286
00:13:55.095 --> 00:13:57.485
there are important lessons about the experiences

287
00:13:57.485 --> 00:14:00.405
of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Party, as well

288
00:14:00.405 --> 00:14:02.085
as the kinds of activism

289
00:14:02.385 --> 00:14:05.325
to build a more inclusive post-conflict period.

290
00:14:05.945 --> 00:14:08.605
But those are lessons that are about, you know,

291
00:14:08.605 --> 00:14:12.045
finding the institutional space to get included.

292
00:14:12.465 --> 00:14:14.365
It means for the power sharing literature

293
00:14:14.385 --> 00:14:16.845
to theorize inclusion all the way down,

294
00:14:17.185 --> 00:14:20.365
to not focus just on those ethno national communities

295
00:14:20.475 --> 00:14:23.085
because of the incredible material difference

296
00:14:23.395 --> 00:14:24.405
that other kinds

297
00:14:24.405 --> 00:14:27.285
of communities make in thinking about inclusion

298
00:14:27.745 --> 00:14:31.365
and in, in indeed ushering in these really important,

299
00:14:31.885 --> 00:14:33.565
equality in human rights,

300
00:14:33.565 --> 00:14:35.045
components of the peace process.

301
00:14:35.545 --> 00:14:39.285
And in the post-conflict transition space, I'm thinking

302
00:14:40.065 --> 00:14:44.405
myself now about, the, the legacies of,

303
00:14:44.865 --> 00:14:46.365
the Good Friday agreement,

304
00:14:46.825 --> 00:14:49.045
but also what it means in terms of the women peace

305
00:14:49.045 --> 00:14:53.205
and security agenda, how it gets taken up as, you know,

306
00:14:53.225 --> 00:14:55.925
an important moment in feminist peace politics.

307
00:14:55.945 --> 00:14:57.285
And all of that is true.

308
00:14:57.945 --> 00:14:59.085
Um, and you know,

309
00:14:59.105 --> 00:15:01.605
the Good Friday agreement predates the women peace

310
00:15:01.605 --> 00:15:06.365
and security agenda, which was passed in, made real in,

311
00:15:06.545 --> 00:15:10.405
2000, when the UN passed,

312
00:15:10.645 --> 00:15:12.885
security Council Resolution 1325.

313
00:15:13.905 --> 00:15:15.845
Uh, so, you know, two years

314
00:15:15.945 --> 00:15:20.125
before, that, WPS was passed by the un,

315
00:15:20.125 --> 00:15:22.165
that's when the Belfast agreement was adopted.

316
00:15:22.505 --> 00:15:25.765
So, in some ways, the experience of Northern Ireland

317
00:15:26.605 --> 00:15:30.725
graphs on to the kinds of expectations about what WPS would,

318
00:15:30.825 --> 00:15:32.685
offer for other kinds of cases,

319
00:15:34.135 --> 00:15:35.875
but in other case, is an important one

320
00:15:35.875 --> 00:15:39.915
to think about both the limits of power sharing in WPS,

321
00:15:39.915 --> 00:15:42.635
but maybe also what might be instructive for other cases.

322
00:15:42.895 --> 00:15:44.395
And that's Afghanistan.

323
00:15:44.895 --> 00:15:48.435
So in, 2021, it's the drawdown

324
00:15:48.435 --> 00:15:50.635
of the US mission in Afghanistan.

325
00:15:51.175 --> 00:15:53.915
And power sharing indeed was on the table

326
00:15:53.975 --> 00:15:55.155
for Afghanistan as well.

327
00:15:55.215 --> 00:15:56.795
It looked quite different at different moments.

328
00:15:56.985 --> 00:16:00.795
Sometimes it was about how to share power among, rival,

329
00:16:01.135 --> 00:16:03.795
anti Taliban factions than it was about how

330
00:16:03.795 --> 00:16:06.835
to share power with the Taliban as well,

331
00:16:07.255 --> 00:16:10.235
and Afghanistan, which,

332
00:16:10.335 --> 00:16:13.995
the initial US led invasion is happens one year

333
00:16:13.995 --> 00:16:16.915
after the passage of the women peace and security agenda.

334
00:16:17.255 --> 00:16:20.875
So in Afghanistan, they had a national action plan on how

335
00:16:20.875 --> 00:16:22.795
to realize women peace and security.

336
00:16:23.655 --> 00:16:26.475
Indeed bringing security to women

337
00:16:26.655 --> 00:16:30.595
and girls was part of, the justification

338
00:16:30.775 --> 00:16:33.195
for the invasion and the protracted occupation

339
00:16:33.535 --> 00:16:35.275
of Afghanistan as well.

340
00:16:36.455 --> 00:16:39.475
So at the drawdown of the mission, when the Ministry

341
00:16:39.475 --> 00:16:43.675
of Women gets renamed something like the Ministry of Vice

342
00:16:43.735 --> 00:16:45.555
and Virtue by the Taliban,

343
00:16:45.855 --> 00:16:48.595
and all of those women who had been active in

344
00:16:48.595 --> 00:16:49.675
that women peace

345
00:16:49.675 --> 00:16:53.875
and security space are now incredibly vulnerable under,

346
00:16:53.875 --> 00:16:55.675
the return of the Taliban regime.

347
00:16:55.975 --> 00:17:00.355
In some ways, all of these 20 years have rendered women more

348
00:17:00.835 --> 00:17:02.995
insecure in Afghanistan than before.

349
00:17:03.755 --> 00:17:08.435
I think that suggests to us also that the integration of

350
00:17:08.785 --> 00:17:10.795
what was promised with power sharing

351
00:17:11.135 --> 00:17:14.995
and what WPS meant was very poorly done.

352
00:17:15.575 --> 00:17:20.515
And I think it had, especially, you know,

353
00:17:20.735 --> 00:17:23.835
had to do a lot with, you know, for the US how

354
00:17:23.835 --> 00:17:27.555
to extricate itself from Afghanistan instead of how really

355
00:17:27.695 --> 00:17:30.755
to, facilitate, power sharing

356
00:17:30.815 --> 00:17:32.835
and gender equality on the agenda.

357
00:17:33.455 --> 00:17:36.875
And I think that is an important lesson when we're thinking

358
00:17:36.875 --> 00:17:38.955
about the new kinds of conflicts.

359
00:17:39.435 --> 00:17:43.075
I mean, they have to end in a mediated settlement

360
00:17:43.075 --> 00:17:46.755
because the experience in Afghanistan is just horrific.

361
00:17:47.615 --> 00:17:48.755
Uh, when we look at

362
00:17:48.755 --> 00:17:51.765
Ukraine, surely we can't mean that it has

363
00:17:51.765 --> 00:17:55.005
to be a military solution for Gaza as well.

364
00:17:55.055 --> 00:17:56.965
There is no military solution.

365
00:17:57.505 --> 00:17:58.925
And the, the horrors

366
00:17:58.925 --> 00:18:02.485
that we are witnessing in Gaza today are,

367
00:18:02.835 --> 00:18:06.405
call on all of us to think about how mediation

368
00:18:07.145 --> 00:18:10.365
and dialogue through inclusion is the only way

369
00:18:10.365 --> 00:18:12.325
that we're going to achieve a real piece.

370
00:18:12.705 --> 00:18:15.845
And in my view, that that kind of piece is a feminist piece.

Reflections on the Good Friday Agreement's Legacy

00:00:00 - Last year marked the 25 year anniversary of the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland. that was an agreement that was signed in 1998, and it ended 30 years of conflict, which is called, sometimes referred to as the troubles. the conflict was largely between, nationalist community that was fighting oppressive British rule and desired a United Ireland and a unionist community that wished to maintain ties with, preserve the connection to the United Kingdom,
00:00:36 - So this agreement was quite extraordinary. in that time, in the 30 years, you know, over 3,700 people had been killed. So it was, quite an exciting time that an agreement was signed, and one in which would install a new, political reality, where both nationalists and unionists would share power in a post agreement, a pol political institution.
00:01:07 - are opportunities to reflect on the legacies of war and conflict and peace. And it was a bit of a strange anniversary last year because the Northern Ireland assembly, the government that had been created as a result of the Good Friday agreement was suspended. So, in the context of that suspension has us thinking about, you know, what are the legacies of the Belfast agreement? What are the lessons that we might learn for other instances
00:01:39 - So the, the, the Assembly now is no longer, suspended only just so, the parties have agreed to share power again, the last suspension was, a boycott by the Democratic Unionist party over, the post Brexit, economic and trade borders, where they would go 'cause borders, like those are, also political borders as well. So they have agreed to return, to, to share power.
00:02:09 - political assembly has been suspended for something like 40% of the time since it was created in 1998. So it hasn't been, there, there has been a, a, it has been a period of, of peace and a set of political processes that are in place in order to deal with, deep divisions between the different parties. But it has also been one that has been quite bumpy along the way. so I'm, you know, I'm interested in thinking about
00:02:42 - and what we might apply for other kinds of cases. So in the power sharing literature, Northern Ireland stands out as an archetypal case of, effective, conflict resolution, for power sharing scholars. it performed what Brendan O'Leary calls a kind of necessary triage. It ended the conflict and created opportunities to have, to, to make, a new political reality possible.

Women’s Role in the Good Friday Agreement

00:03:12 - the Good Friday agreement is lauded as well, because it had this unique all women's political party that participated in the peace talks that led to the Good Friday agreement, the signing of the Peace Agreement in 1998. And for feminist Peace scholars, they're interested in thinking about the contribution that that party made, to the conflict and how it might be possible to replicate, that contribution or some of the, what we learn from the difference
00:03:45 - the first post, conflict government. What, what, what difference that might make and, and what might be, you know, lessons for other, other kinds of cases as well. may I'll say a little bit about the origins of the project. Both myself and friend and colleague Alison McCullough have been thinking about the relationship between power sharing and the gender and peace literature and feminist security studies literature.
00:04:15 - which was another anniversary actually, of the passage of United Nations Security Council, resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security. It was a 15 year anniversary then, and the two of us were at the International Studies Association annual meeting. and we were, I, you know, I was attending some of the power sharing panels with, with Allison, and they were all held in the,
00:04:45 - that the ISA was held at. And Allison came with me to the women peace and Security panels, which were largely held in the, bedrooms on the top floors of, of the hotel. So the two of us were riding up and down the elevator attending each other's panels. And it struck us that, you know, we were, these were two very different kinds of scholars, groups of scholars working on what were actually very similar kinds of cases.
00:05:15 - who were working on the women peace and security agenda to think about, well, look at the difference that, the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, that political party that participated in the talks in Northern Ireland, made to, the peace agreement. How can we take some of that, and integrate it into this new UN resolution on women peace and security? and so they were thinking about Northern Ireland, but so too, where the power sharing scholars about the lessons about what has worked with power sharing, what kinds
00:05:49 - you don't have a kind of majoritarian, government that, that leaves out, very large minority communities and is quite unstable and can be quite violent as well. So the two of us began in that moment as we were traveling up and down the elevator to think about the relationship between women peace and security and power sharing. And that is really the origin of our project. right now, we were just finishing up a book on,

Feminist Power Sharing in Conflict Resolution

00:06:21 - of Toronto Press, which looks at some of those archetypal cases of power sharing, like Northern Ireland, like in Bosnia, and, and thinks through what, what we might learn from those cases, in order to develop a feminist theory of power sharing that might be, a way of thinking about new types of political institutions and new kinds of transformations for the sorts of conflicts
00:06:55 - in Gaza and so forth. The Good Friday agreement was signed in 1998, and, it had this really unique electoral formula, in order to ensure that even very small political parties would be, represented in the peace talks that would lead to a final agreement. So in 1996, they had the elections to the Peace talks, which were quite, it was quite interesting.
00:07:27 - civil society organizers, people with a background in, civil rights organizing, saw this as an opportunity. They thought there are elections. Why don't we form a party and see if we can get elected to the talks as well? Now, the idea of having elections to the talks was to ensure that even very small, sectarian parties would be represented there, because the idea of the talks was to ensure broad inclusion
00:07:58 - to each other if you were going to secure a piece. So these feminists, thought this is our opportunity, perhaps to form a party as well and get elected to the talks. And they were led by, it was a, a cross community group, co-founded by Monica McWilliams, and, co-led with Pearl Seger as well. So Monica represented the nationalist community, and Pearl represented largely the unionist community.
00:08:32 - leading up to the talks to form a party to begin canvassing. And incredibly, quite improbably. They got elected to, to the 1996 talks. Now, they didn't just sort of spring out of nowhere. As I said, you know, members of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Party, had a background. Some members had a background in trade union activism had a background in, the Civil Rights movement and feminist organizing and so forth.
00:09:01 - Monica McWilliams has written recently an autobiography called, titled as Stand Up Speak Out, where she describes the experience of, of, feminist organizing in Northern Ireland. And it was, she, she recalls it organizing a conference before, the, election to the Peace Talks where she brought together, you know, over 200 women from across Northern Ireland, and they were reflecting on, on the un

Gender Mainstreaming and Power Sharing Lessons

00:09:35 - was signed in 1995 and set an agenda for gender mainstreaming and, you know, in conflict resolution, but in, in all aspects of, of politics as well. And the idea, I think, as I understand it, was to sort of bring Beijing home and to think about the lessons from Beijing for Northern Ireland. So the Beijing platform for action is 1995. Elections to the Peace Talks are 1996. So you've got this kind of base of, feminists
00:10:05 - So they get elected to the peace talks and, they were there with a mandate, which was one, to not settle the constitutional question among them, but one that was going to bring a commitment to human rights, equality, and inclusion in those peace talks. And they were, successful in ensuring that there would be world class commitments to human rights. The Human Rights Commission guaranteed in the Good Friday
00:10:38 - for a bill of rights. There was a civic forum that, they were able to put on the agenda. So that kind of experience, it was quite interesting. It, it is one that, we can't say that it is really the theory of power sharing and the practice of power sharing that helped ensure that women got, a voice and the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition got elected there. It was quite accidental, that, that they managed
00:11:08 - But what it is instructive for is how those ideas around inclusion and equality and human rights are the kinds of ideas, the normative commitments that are part of what power sharing as mode of democratic governance, also, promotes. So we can kind of see a relationship both to, power sharing modes of government, as well as this commitment to broader base inclusion. Power sharing, in essence, is an idea where it's,
00:11:43 - where the largest communities are represented in that government. It is not a authoritarian government, which can be quite oppressive and can be indeed quite dangerous for minority communities. So power sharing is the logic that you need all, you need the major communities that are represented in, in political, government and political life, indeed. but the power sharing literature tends to understand community and inclusion in terms of ethno national identity.
00:12:16 - the broad representation of communities, it tends to focus on those ethnicized communities. and indeed it might by creating conditions where those communities are then represented in political government. it's, it entrenches, that kind of, way in which politics operate. So in, in the post agreement period, then, the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition begins to fade away

Lessons from Northern Ireland's Power Sharing Experience

00:12:45 - then along ethno national lines, because those are the parties that are, more likely to, have political power in order to, you know, transform, unequal conditions in communities and so forth. and, and what it has meant then that is that, there, there have been these, you know, important equality measures in the post agreement period, but there have also been a lot of tr there's also been a lot of trouble and limits on the kinds of imaginings or the kinds of change
00:13:17 - And indeed, some of the most progressive changes that have happened in Northern Ireland in the post agreement period have been one that have happened during those periods of suspension. That 40% of the time, just as an example, the, decriminalization of abortion and marriage equality were both, made possible when the Northern Ireland Power sharing assembly was suspended, and there was direct rule from Westminster,
00:13:48 - to ensure those kinds of equality measures. So, I think that means then that there are, there are important lessons about the experiences of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition Party, as well as the kinds of activism to build a more inclusive post-conflict period. But those are lessons that are about, you know, finding the institutional space to get included. It means for the power sharing literature to theorize inclusion all the way down,
00:14:20 - because of the incredible material difference that other kinds of communities make in thinking about inclusion and in, in indeed ushering in these really important, equality in human rights, components of the peace process. And in the post-conflict transition space, I'm thinking myself now about, the, the legacies of, the Good Friday agreement, but also what it means in terms of the women peace
00:14:53 - an important moment in feminist peace politics. And all of that is true. and you know, the Good Friday agreement predates the women peace and security agenda, which was passed in, made real in, 2000, when the UN passed, security Council Resolution 1325. so, you know, two years before, that, WPS was passed by the un,
00:15:22 - So, in some ways, the experience of Northern Ireland graphs on to the kinds of expectations about what WPS would, offer for other kinds of cases, but in other case, is an important one to think about both the limits of power sharing in WPS, but maybe also what might be instructive for other cases. And that's Afghanistan. So in, 2021, it's the drawdown of the US mission in Afghanistan.

Lessons from Afghanistan on Power and Peace

00:15:53 - for Afghanistan as well. It looked quite different at different moments. Sometimes it was about how to share power among, rival, anti Taliban factions than it was about how to share power with the Taliban as well, and Afghanistan, which, the initial US led invasion is happens one year after the passage of the women peace and security agenda. So in Afghanistan, they had a national action plan on how to realize women peace and security.
00:16:26 - and girls was part of, the justification for the invasion and the protracted occupation of Afghanistan as well. So at the drawdown of the mission, when the Ministry of Women gets renamed something like the Ministry of Vice and Virtue by the Taliban, and all of those women who had been active in that women peace and security space are now incredibly vulnerable under,
00:16:55 - In some ways, all of these 20 years have rendered women more insecure in Afghanistan than before. I think that suggests to us also that the integration of what was promised with power sharing and what WPS meant was very poorly done. And I think it had, especially, you know, had to do a lot with, you know, for the US how to extricate itself from Afghanistan instead of how really
00:17:30 - and gender equality on the agenda. And I think that is an important lesson when we're thinking about the new kinds of conflicts. I mean, they have to end in a mediated settlement because the experience in Afghanistan is just horrific. when we look at Ukraine, surely we can't mean that it has to be a military solution for Gaza as well. There is no military solution. And the, the horrors
00:18:12 - call on all of us to think about how mediation and dialogue through inclusion is the only way that we're going to achieve a real piece. And in my view, that that kind of piece is a feminist piece.

Faculti AI can make mistakes

Research

Policy

Analysis