Customer Reviews

Explaining Northern Ireland: Broken Images

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For anyone with a basic knowledge of Northern Ireland looking to delve deeper into the causes of the Troubles, McGarry and O'Leary's masterpiece is the perfect place to start. In clear, well-organized chapters, the two political scientists outline the arguments, philosophies and proposals of all sides of the conflict, nationalist as well as unionist. They also explore the religious and economic facets of the Troubles, and in doing so debunk the myths that Northern Ireland is ravaged by easily-explainable theological or class divisions.

The greatest strength of the book, however, is its use of comparative political analysis to illuminate features of Northern Ireland's situation. By comparing the region to places such as the United States, South Africa, Belgium, and Israel, McGarry and O'Leary demonstrate to the reader that the Troubles, while unique in many ways, also follow trends found in conflicts elsewhere.

Though the Good Friday Agreement and subsequent establishment of a Northern Ireland parliament render the authors' conclusions a bit obsolete, the book remains vital reading. It is perhaps the only political science text available on Northern Ireland which tackles all the issues with remarable clarity, even-handedness, and insight.

At first Explaining Northern Ireland appears as a 'long read'. But once you start to read you'll become amazed at the details that is the Nothern Irish conflict. The authors detail the major points of view from the major political parties/influnce and the internal and external causes of the the current conflict.

Even though the book was published in 1995, it is a very good resource for anyone interested in international relations and ethino-conflicts.