ABSTRACT
Economic assistance fits in with the general civil society approach to conflict resolution and transformational politics (Galtung et al. 2002; Sandole 1999). In post-conflict societies, economic assistance may be important in empowering the grassroots within ethno-political groups to redress structural inequalities, promote contact, and build support for peace processes and for participatory democracy (Byrne 2001). Within the context of the Northern Ireland (NI) peacebuilding process, economic assistance from the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the European Union (EU) Peace I fund attempts to tackle structural inequalities, bridge the sectarian wall, and transform the civic culture by drawing grassroots support for the peace process (Byrne and Irvin 2001, 2002). This chapter focuses on public awareness of the contribution of external aid toward one’s own community’s economic development, the contribution of cross-community projects to peace, and its effectiveness toward the reduction of violence and in building the peace dividend. Very considerable economic resources have been committed to resolving the conflict, yet we have little empirical evidence of their impact (McGarry and O’Leary 1995, 2007).
