ABSTRACT
Introduction Since the end of the Cold War standards of human rights and responsible governance have become part of the definition of international security (Talentino 2005). With the beginning of the new millennium ethnopolitical conflicts are reasserting themselves in the global arena (Wolff 2006). These conflicts are caused, defined, and maintained by an interrelated set of economic, historical, political, psychocultural, and religious forces (Olson-Lounsbery and Pearson 2009). Transforming intractable ethnopolitical conflicts is a long-term process of peacebuilding, and often the quality of the peace experienced by citizens in postaccord societies is horrendous (MacGinty 2008). This study explores one process toward conflict transformation and peacebuilding in Northern Ireland: external international economic assistance. Richard Rose (1971) concluded that the problem with Northern Ireland is that there is no solution. How does Rose’s conclusion play out in terms of the findings of this study? Everybody in Northern Ireland has a story to tell about how the Troubles have affected their everyday lives. This study contributes to our understanding of the impact of economic assistance and the political world of a sample of Northern Ireland’s citizens by reviewing their political imagery of sustainable economic development, peacebuilding, and reconciliation. The study highlights the perspectives of 98 community group leaders, IFB and LSP officers, funding agency development officers, civil servants, and 1,023 polled citizens about the role of economic aid through the IFI and EU Peace II Fund in addressing deprivation, inclusiveness, and some of the underlying deep-rooted economic causes of the Northern Ireland conflict. The research sets three central issues: (1) public awareness of external economic assistance and its impact, (2) perceived equity of distribution in building capacity and sustainable economic development, and (3) effectiveness in peacebuilding and reconciliation, and in mitigating political violence. This underresearched area informs our understanding of the neoliberal peace paradigm approach to building peace in post-accord societies. The study has implications for the other ethnic conflicts transitioning out of violence through a development intervention strategy as they rebuild relationships and structures in
the aftermath of protracted ethnopolitical conflict. Is it possible that external international economic assistance can be a constructive force in the peacebuilding process in creating mutual tolerance and understanding to develop a civil society in Northern Ireland?
