Northern Ireland Since 1945
- ISBN-10
- 0582023920
- ISBN-13
- 9780582023925
- Pages
- 229
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1991
- Publisher
- Longman
- Author
- Sabine Wichert
Description
This study is an attempt to understand the history of Northern Ireland as it evolved from the introduction of the welfare state to the comparative prosperous 1960s which brought some liberalization to a conservative society. It offers an explanation of how and why the expectations raised in the 60s were frustrated by the upheavals of 1969-1972. It shows how the declining economic fortunes of the province contributed to the Ulster problem, namely who should rule Northern Ireland, catholic nationalists from Dublin or protestant unionists from Belfast. recent history lies in the backwardness of its economy, politics and culture. When the first steps towards economic and social modernization were halted by the new troubles, 19th-century modes of political behaviour reasserted themselves and the accompanying onset of economic decline created renewed defensiveness on both sides which promoted the intransigence of antagonistic and confrontational politics. British intervention from 1972 had no means to address the problem, and hindsight suggests, any political solution was therefore doomed to failure. values of both sides in the conflict that overshadows the provinces history. The author tries to break through the political and often journalistic partisanship which has often blighted any understanding of Northern Ireland.
