Institutional Change and Conflict Regulation: The Anglo-Irish Agreement (1985) and the Mechanisms of Change in Northern Ireland
West European Politics 34 (4), pp. 838-858, July 2011
38 Pages Posted: 20 Jul 2012
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
This article uses historical institutionalist theory to assess the impact of the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 - often seen as the first step towards gradualist change in the role of the state in Northern Ireland. It uses new data to show how the elites who initiated the process conceived of it and to identify the mechanisms producing change. The study shows that the mechanisms of institutional change identified in comparative studies of industrial policy and welfare state development are also to be found in processes of intergovernmental ethnic conflict regulation. In turn, it highlights a mechanism of institutional change - ‘wedging’ - not discussed in the literature.
Keywords: Institutional change, Historical Institutionalism, Northern Ireland, Anglo-Irish Agreement, conflict regulation
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation