ABSTRACT
Ethnic conflict in Ireland is centuries old. It continues in Northern Ireland despite the peace process, the paramilitary ceasefires and the Good Friday (or Belfast) Agreement of 10 April 1998. State strategies of territorial management have been central to this conflict since the outset. In this chapter we examine the sources and changing form of the conflict: its historical origins, the changing ethnic balance, the causes of current tension, the strategies now being pursued for dealing with it, and the prospects for the future.
