"The authors are experts not only on Northern Ireland but on ethnic
conflict in many other countries. The comparative perspective that
they bring to their treatment of Northern Ireland gives it
extraordinary depth and insight. It is a stimulating analysis not
only for Northern Ireland buffs, but for anyone interested in the
roots of ethnic conflict - the world's number-one problem in the
1990s and probably in the twenty-first century, too."
Professor
Arend Lijphart, University of California, San Diego, President of
the American Political Science Association (1995-6)
"This is a trenchant analysis and critique of the arguments
around the Northern Ireland conflict. McGarry and O'Leary slice
their way through the tangle of argument, prejudice, history and
propaganda which surround the issue, while avoiding the traps into
which so many others have fallen. They present a merciless critique
of reductionist interpretations of the Northern Ireland issue from
all parts of the political spectrum, continually bringing us back
to the facts on the ground. This will be essential reading for
anyone wishing to understand this tangled question." Michael
Keating, University of Western Ontario
"In Explaining Northern Ireland McGarry and O'Leary strip
away the misconceptions, dogmas, and stereotypes that have stood in
the way of so many efforts to understand and resolve the fate of
Northern Ireland. They demonstrate, compellingly, that both
Catholoic nationalism and Protestant loyalism are real and
contradictory forces, that they have never had an accurate
understanding of one another, and that only by accommodating what
is minimally required by both communities can peace be achieved.
The authors write with wit and wisdom, showing why the conflict has
been so intractable, but also explaining why the prospects for a
stable and relatively just peace are now good, even if they are not
certain. This is a must-read book for anyone who has despaired of
peace in Ireland or who believes it is right around the corner."
Professor Ian S. Lustick, University of Pennsylvania
"Explaining Northern Ireland lives up to its title. It is
the most effective and intelligent analysis we have of the crisis
itself, of its attendant discourses, of its possible resolution.
This book deals astringently with much of the propaganda, melodrama
and lies that have surrounded the Northern Ireland problem. It
should be recommended reading for all those genuinely interested in
finding a solution that is rational, humane and enduring. It is
also a model of the kind of analysis that such conflicts need if
they are ever to be understood or resolved." Professor Seamus
Deane, University of Notre Dame
"If read and heeded could well influence the decisions of those
who come to the negotiating table. O'Leary is a man ahead of the
pack, a man with a contribution made as Ireland stands at the
crossroads of history ... He gives a new slant on the whole thing,
claiming that the British and Irish states created the conditions
that made it difficult for the people of the North to live
together." Irish World
"The book provides a balanced account of nationalist and
unionist discourse followed by an intelligent deconstruction of
both. The critical examination of Irish nationalist theory stands
favorable comparison with the cascade of tracts produced by
unionist ideologues on the subject, not because McGarry and O'Leary
are necessarily more favourable to Irish nationalism (though they
are) but simply because their critique is well structured,
intelligent, and reasoned, rather than reductionist, polemical and
emotional ... There is much in the book which will continue to fuel
arguments amoung undergraduates (and feuds amongst the rest of us)
for the foreseeable future. That is recommendation enough for
reading it." Feargal Cochrane, Queen's University Belfast, Irish
Political Studies
