Northern Ireland: more shared and more divided

This chapter examines Northern Ireland 20 years after the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement through a social science lens exploring ethno-national identity. It reviews a broad understanding of violent conflict since the 1960s examining the impact upon people and places. It compares the characterisation of the conflict as having sustained social division with evidence of shifting and diverse identities in a context of greater equality and a broader distribution of political power and resources. Society has aspects of ‘sharing’ and even integration whilst social and political division remain significant both in terms of urban and rural geographies and within key institutions. The paper will conclude that Northern Ireland is not ‘stuck’ in its history, as it is commonly characterised, but rather struggling with issues of diversity and identity along with most other societies around the globe.