The Politics of Community

Abstract

The idea of ‘community’ dominates politics in Northern Ireland in both popular and political discourse and in academic writing, policy and legislation. Depending upon particular understandings of the notion of community different arguments are made about the policies that need to be implemented to develop the peace process. This has had a fundamental impact on areas such as legislation over parades and the development of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland. This essay critically looks at understandings of ‘community’; how it becomes used in political discourse and in policy development and the character of its relationship with ideas about safety and security.

Key Words:

• community
• Northern Ireland
• multiculturalism
• human rights

Acknowledgements

Some of the research material in this paper was undertaken as part of a project under the Economic and Social Research Council’s Devolution programme.