Democracy and Northern Ireland : Beyond the Liberal Paradigm?

by Little, Adrian

• ISBN13: 9781403912480
• ISBN10: 1403912483
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-06-12
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Democracy and Northern Ireland examines the influence of liberal theories of democracy on recent developments in the Northern Irish peace process. In so doing it analyzes the applicability of theories such as political liberalism, multiculturalism and deliberative democracy to deeply divided societies. Little contends that these models need to build upon recent critiques provided by feminists and civil society theorists in the construction of a more radical interpretation of democracy that can provide a framework for democratic politics in Northern Ireland.

Author Biography

Adrian Little is a Senior Lecturer in Politics, Department of Politics, Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1	(8)
Liberalism and democracy	3	(3)
Political theory and Northern Ireland	6	(3)
1 Explaining the Belfast Agreement	9	(24)
The provisions of the Belfast Agreement	10	(11)
Evaluating the Belfast Agreement: the limitations of consociationalism	21	(10)
Conclusion: the paradox of the Belfast Agreement	31	(2)
2 Political Liberalism	33	(24)
Rawls and Political Liberalism	34	(10)
Summarising Rawls	44	(1)
The limits of liberalism	45	(10)
Conclusion	55	(2)
3 Multiculturalism and the Politics of Difference	57	(31)
Bhikhu Parekh's theory of multiculturalism: human beings and culture	61	(9)
The political implications of Parekh's multiculturalism	70	(7)
Beyond multiculturalism: Brian Barry and the liberal backlash	77	(8)
Conclusion: applying multiculturalism in Northern Ireland	85	(3)
4 Deliberative Democracy and Democratic Communication	88	(24)
Habermas and the discursive conception of politics	91	(10)
Dryzek's model of discursive democracy	101	(6)
Deliberation, democracy and Northern Ireland	107	(5)
5 Social Capital, Trust and Civil Society	112	(25)
Social capital and civil society	112	(5)
A question of trust: Onora O'Neill	117	(4)
Civil society in Northern Ireland	121	(14)
Conclusion	135	(2)
6 Feminism and the Politics of Difference	137	(27)
Young and the politics of difference	140	(12)
Feminism and identity politics in Northern Ireland	152	(11)
Conclusion	163	(1)
7 Radical Democracy	164	(27)
Chantal Mouffe and The Democratic Paradox	169	(6)
Value pluralism and incommensurability	175	(6)
Democracy, consensus and political change	181	(3)
A radical democratic approach?	184	(5)
Conclusion: radical democracy and the ethics of democracy	189	(2)
Conclusion	191	(5)
Notes	196	(6)
Bibliography	202	(5)
Index	207