ABSTRACT
The chapter traces the emergence of Northern Ireland as a political entity in 1921 and the polarised form of politics that has been dominant there since then. It examines the impact of partition upon three sets of relations: those between Ireland and Britain, those between north and south within Ireland, and those between Protestants and Catholics within Northern Ireland. It analyses conflict-resolution mechanisms since the 1970s, discussing the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973, the Anglo–Irish Agreement of 1985 and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. It assesses the dramatic changes in the Northern Ireland party system since 1998 and the rise to dominance, within their respective communities, of the DUP and Sinn Féin.
