Irlande du nord : Le radicalisme comme rançon de la paix ?

The elections of 26 November 2003 in Northern Ireland were supposed to put the Catholic-Protestant power-sharing institutions back on track, in accordance with the 1998 peace agreements. However, these elections saw the victory of the radical DUP (Democratic Unionist Party) on the Protestant side, and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the IRA, on the Catholic side. With the DUP categorically refusing to form a government with Sinn Fein, these election results have dashed any hope of a quick return to power-sharing. But if the breakthrough of the DUP, which is opposed to the 1998 agreements, indicates the growing discontent of Protestants, the support given to Sinn Féin on the Catholic side must on the contrary be interpreted as a desire to continue the implementation of these agreements. These election results do not reveal a polarisation of the Northern Irish political landscape, but clearly testify to the failures of the current peace process.