Abstract
Northern Ireland has witnessed significant political progress with devolution and a powersharing Executive in place since May 2007. These political achievements, however,conceal a highly polarised society characterised by sectarianism and community divisions,the legacy of a protracted conflict. This paper is located in the theoretical discoursebetween consociationalists who argue that antithetical identities cannot be integrated andadvocates of social transformation who support greater cross-community peace-buildinginitiatives through the involvement of civil society. This theoretical debate is taking placein a policy vacuum. The Northern Ireland Executive has abandoned its commitment tothe previous (direct rule) administration’s A Shared Future policy and is now consideringalternatives broadly described as community cohesion, sharing and integration. Usinga case study of a Protestant/Catholic interface community, this paper offers empiricalevidence of the effectiveness of one social transformation initiative involving communitygroups in a highly segregated area of West Belfast.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 13-28 |
| Journal | Social Policy and Society |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - Dec 2010 |