Imagining ‘a shared future’: post- conflict discourses on peace- building MILENA KOMAROvA

The­Belfast/Good­Friday­Agreement­(1998)­recognised­the­political­rights­of­the­ two­main­communities­in­Northern­Ireland­and­enabled­their­expression­in­political­institutions.­Early­analyses­expressed­concerns­that­the­Agreement­might­be­ better­described­as­‘a­means­of­regulating­conflict,­not­transforming­it’­(Taylor­ 2001:­37)­but­there­were­still­hopes­that­it­would­lay­the­grounds­for­a­new­form­ of­ politics­ based­ on­ pragmatism,­ ‘post-­nationalism’­ and­ ‘new­ citizenship’­ (Cochrane­ 2001).­ Yet,­ if­ the­ latter­ were­ now­ being­ expressed­ through­ words­ such­as­ ‘shared’­and­‘integrated­society’,­what­ these­have­meant­has­ remained­ rather­vague­and,­judging­by­developments­since,­in­many­ways­aspirational. ­ The­practical­ implementation­of­ the­Agreement­has­given­many­ reasons­ to­ doubt­ the­ confidence­ of­ earlier­ prognoses:­ the­ recurrent­ crises­ of­ devolution­ were­apparently­overcome­ through­ the­St­Andrews­Agreement­ (2006)­but­ the­ relationship­ between­ the­ parties­ in­ Stormont­ remains­ best­ described­ as­ ‘fractious’­ (BBC­Newsnight­ 24­September­ 2009).­The­ cracks­ in­ political­ relationships­ are­ not­ least­ evident­ in­ the­ deadlock­ over­ the­ future­Cohesion,­ Sharing­ and­Integration­policy­intended­to­lay­down­the­Executive’s­strategy­for­dealing­ with­ sectarianism­ and­ racism.1­ In­ addition,­ there­ has­ appeared­ to­ have­ been­ greater­polarisation­in­voting­behaviour­(Tonge­2006),­persistent­levels­of­residential­segregation­(e.g.­Niens et al. 2003;­Shirlow­and­Murtagh­2006),­continued­ incidents­of­ interface­violence­and­an­ increasing­number­of­ ‘peace­walls’­ (Jarman­2002;­McVeigh­and­Rolston­2007;­although­also­note­McEldowney­et al.:­Chapter­11). ­ In­light­of­these­developments,­the­words­of­a­community­worker­from­North­ Belfast­ ring­ loudly:­ ‘We­don’t­have­peace.­We­have­an­absence­of­violence.’2 Perhaps,­ then,­it­ is­not­unfounded­to­ask,­beyond­the­formal­functioning­of­the­ current­ political­ dispensation,­ what does ‘peace’ actually mean for Northern Ireland ?­ Does­ it­ mean­ transcending­ unionism­ and­ nationalism­ in­ substance­ (Cochrane­2001)?­And,­if­so,­does­that­entail­transforming­communal­identities­ or,­indeed,­altering­the­way­communities­and­individuals­relate­to­each­other­in­ the­public­sphere? ­ In­an­attempt­to­address­the­above­questions,­this­chapter­explores­discourses­ on­peace-­building­among­communities,­politicians­and­public/voluntary­bodies­ in­Northern­Ireland­in­the­context­of­the­government’s­Strategic­Policy­on­Good­

Relations­(OFMDFM­2005)­and­associated­attempts­at­conceptualising­and­creating­ ‘shared­ space’­ in­ Belfast.­ Using­ interview­ and­ document­ analysis,­ the­ chapter­stresses­the­existence­of­different­and­often­conflicting­interpretations­of­ the­notion­of­‘good­relations’.­It­highlights­the­fact­that­different­interpretations­ of­ ‘good­ relations’­ are­ discursively connected­ to­ different­ types­ of­ communal­ identities.­ Such­ interpretations­ and­ identities,­ it­ argues,­ profoundly­ affect­ the­ kind­of­sharing­ that­ is­understood­to­be­an­aim­for­peace-­building­in­Northern­ Ireland.­ Finally,­ the­ chapter­ queries­ the­ influence­ of­ these­ discourses­ on­ the­ dynamic­ of­ relationships­ between­ different­ communities­ in­ localised­ everyday­ contexts. ­ In­order­ to­engage­in­an­analysis­of­discourses­on­peace-­building­I­draw­on­ two­types­of­interview­and­documentary­material.­First,­interviews­with­participants­ in­ the­ European­ Union­ Peace­ II­ Programme­ (community­ and­ voluntary­ organisations,­civil­servants­and­elected­politicians)­and­their­written­responses­ to­the­public­consultation­on­A Shared Future (further­elaborated­in­Komarova­ 2007).­In­addition,­I­refer­to­interviews­with­members­of­the­Advisory­Panel­of­a­ major­regeneration­scheme­in­North­Belfast­which­were­conducted­in­2008-9­as­ a­part­of­an­ongoing­ESRC­research­project­(2007-12)­entitled­‘Conflict­in­Cities­ and­the­Contested­State’­(see­O’Dowd­and­Komarova­2009).