ABSTRACT
In Chapters 2 and 3 I drew attention to the influence on Arend Lijphart, the pioneer of consociational approaches to governing conflict, of pluralist theory and sketched the role of anthropology in the development of cultural pluralism more generally. In Chapters 4 and 5 I outlined the practical application of pluralist ideas in the Irish case as part of the peace process, focussing on the development of programs aimed at community development and ‘own culture validation’. Given the current hegemonic status of these ideas about culture and identity, what needs to be emphasised in this chapter is their novelty when they were introduced.1
