The road to peace? The good friday agreement and the conflict in Northern Ireland

The Good Friday Agreement concluded in April 1998. After more than two years, it appears that despite numerous difficulties facing its supporters, the agreement provides sufficient stability and flexibility to allow a political process to take place in Northern Ireland that is regarded by the vast majority of the population as representative of its interests. In this article, I analyze more than thirty years of unsuccessful conflict management in Northern Ireland that preceded the Good Friday Agreement. Following a brief exploration of the debate about the nature of the Northern Ireland conflict and the solution it requires, I trace the various attempts to settle the conflict, from the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973 to the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985, and finally to the Good Friday Agreement. This makes it possible to assess the reasons for the success so far of the Good Friday Agreement and its future prospects.