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Research Project

Conflict in Northern Ireland

Ian McAllister

The Northern Ireland problem is one of the most long-running political conflicts in the world. This project, in collaboration with Professor Bernadette Hayes (University of Aberdeen), examines long-term public attitudes and opinions in Northern Ireland towards religion and politics, party support, and the use of violence to obtain political goals. A focus of the research is on the effects of political violence on public opinion, with special reference to the young, and on the role of integrated education as a civil society initiative to mitigate social conflict. The research is supported by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and the Nuffield Foundation.

Key publications:

'Education and Intergroup Relations in Northern Ireland.' Social Problems, forthcoming (with Bernadette Hayes).

'Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.' Terrorism and Political Violence 17: 599-617 (2005) (with Bernadette Hayes).

'The Erosion of Consent: Protestant Support for the 1998 Northern Ireland Agreement.' Journal of Elections, Parties and Opinion 15(2): 147-67 (2005) (with Bernadette Hayes and Lizanne Dowds).

'The Armalite and the Ballot Box': Sinn Fein's Electoral Strategy in Northern Ireland.' Electoral Studies 23: 123-142 (2004).

'Protestant Disillusionment with the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement.' Irish Journal of Sociology 13(1): 109-125 (2004) (with Bernadette Hayes).