ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that area studies scholars should seek to integrate their analysis of this deeply divided place more fully into the IR sub-field of international security studies. Other scholars, like McGrattan and historian Simon Prince, however, have cautioned against reading too much into the framing of the Northern Ireland conflict solely by means of the master category of ethnicity. As the Northern Ireland conflict escalated in the 1970s, the IRA re-emerged, with some of its members drawing direct comparisons between their own "armed struggle" and the revolutionary fervour sweeping other parts of the world. The idea that the Northern Ireland conflict has comparative resonance with other places like Cyprus remains a key feature of the study of the politics of this deeply divided society. The internationalisation of the Northern Ireland conflict is undoubtedly a key aspect worth exploring further, even if, as Paul Dixon contends, there nonetheless remains a question over the scholarly merit and utility of comparisons.
