ssay question: Evaluate the key perspectives on British policy towards Northern Ireland during the recent conflict.

(Please, I know you guys work your hardest, but I really need to get marked at least 75% in this essay. And also, last time I ordered from here I was caught with plagiarism, so please, if you can, be careful with the sources. Thank you so much.)

Notes from my teacher: The British state is a key actor in the Norther Irish drama. How can we characterise Britain’s constitutional policy towards Northern Ireland over the whole period of the recent conflict? Republicans have traditionally argued that the British have a ‘selfish, strategic or economic’ interest and therefore want to retain their first and last colony. Nationalists have tended to argue that the British have no great interest in Northern Ireland beyond finding a settlement. Unionists to varying degrees have trusted British governments, while loyalists have tended to argue that the British are withdrawing from Northern Ireland. Professor Brendan O’Leary has argued that British policy is marked by ‘inconsistencies and contradictions’ which have been ironed out by ‘painfully slow ethnonational policy learning’. Professor O’Malley argues that there is no British strategy towards Northern Ireland just ambiguity, inconsistency and crisis management. Cunningham, Dixon and others have suggested that British policy is marked more by continuity and constraint.

Also, try and agree with Paul Dixon.

Use these sources if need:
Paul Dixon, Northern Ireland: The Politics of War and Peace, Palsgrave Macmillan, 2nd Edition, 2008

Paul Dixon and Eamonn O’Kane, Northern Ireland since 1969, Longman, 2011.

Padraig O’Malley, The Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today, Beacon Press, Boston, 1997

John McGarry and Brendan O’Leary (eds.), The Future of Northern Ireland, Oxford University Press, 1995

Paul Dixon, (2009), ‘”A tragedy Beyond Words”: Interpretations of British government policy and the Northern Ireland Peace Process’ in A. Edwards and Stephen Bloomer (eds.) Transforming the peace process in Northern Ireland: from terrrorism to democratic politics. Dublin, Ireland: Irish Academic Press. pp. 175 – 194

M. J. Cunningham, (2001) 2nd Edition. British Government policy in Northern Ireland 1969-2000, Manchester University Press. (See his conclusion in particular where he discusses different perspectives on British policy.

Paul Dixon (2001) Northern Ireland: The Politics of War and Peace. (see particularly the chapters 7, 8, 9 and pp. 292-304 of chapter 11.

J. McGarry and B. O’Leary (1995) Explaining Northern Ireland, Oxford, Blackwell. (see also for contrasting interpretations of British Policy)

Paul Arthur (2001) Special Relationships: Britain, Ireland and the Northern Ireland Problem, Blackstaff. (this may be worth dipping into)

Peter R. Neumann, Britain’s Longest War: British Strategy in Northern Ireland Conflict, 1969-98, Palsgrave, 2003