ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the challenge of developing a socially just conception of citizenship education in ethno-nationally divided societies, where citizenship and understandings of the conflict-affected past are contested issues. In terms of citizenship education, one of the debates that often arises relates to the definition of citizenship or a ‘citizen identity’ – whether ‘citizenship’ should be tightly defined and then transmitted through the curriculum or whether it should be kept open to interpretation by individuals. The difference of views on national belonging in Northern Ireland originates in the British Protestant colonial settlement of the north of Ireland, the partition of the island in the early twentieth century, and real and perceived inequalities between Catholics and Protestants in terms of representation in government and access to employment and housing. Looking at the two case countries, Northern Ireland and Israel are state parties to a number of international treaties.
