Description
Book SynopsisIn contemporary Northern Ireland, more than two decades after the peace agreement that ended the thirty-year sectarian violence known as the Troubles the risk of a return to violent conflict is not only present but growing. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork, comparative research, and over 110 hours of face-to-face interviews with a diverse range of political, academic, civil society, and community actors across Northern Ireland, A Troubled Sleep revisits one of the world''s most deeply divided societies to analyze Northern Ireland''s current vulnerabilities, and points of resilience, as an allegedly post-conflict society. By examining the Northern Ireland example, Waller presents deep insight into what happens when identity politics prevail over democracy, when a paralysis in governance leads to a political vacuum for extremist voices to exploit, when de facto social segregation becomes normalized, when acclimatization to violence becomes a generational legacy, and when questions of who we are become secondary to who we are not.
Trade ReviewA Troubled Sleep is both a model for scholarship on contemporary issues and a gloomy forecast for the future of Northern Ireland. Waller brings immense scholarly skill to his effort to assess where the road ahead in Northern Ireland may lead ... There is a great deal of substance here, but Waller writes clearly, and one never feels bogged down by the complexities of Northern Ireland. * W. H. Mulligan Jr., CHOICE *
Table of ContentsTABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: A Brutal Duality Part I - Wounded Identities Chapter 1: "You're One or the Other:" Social Identities in Deeply Divided Societies Chapter 2: "Two Eyes on the Past:" Northern Ireland's Wounded History Part II - Risk and Resilience in Contemporary Northern Ireland Understanding Risk and Resilience Chapter 3: "Was There Ever A Before?" The Tyranny of Memory Chapter 4: "With Deep Regret and Reluctance:" Governance in a Deeply Divided Society Chapter 5: "The Walls Entered Into Our Souls:" Social Fragmentation in Everyday Life Part III - A Troubled Sleep Chapter 6: "A Farewell to Peace?:" Escalating Risk and Fading Resilience Conclusion: "I Hope It Wasn't All a Waste:" Northern Ireland At Its Centenary Endmatter Index
