I have a new post up at Al Jazeera on
Peace in Northern Ireland: A model of success? Here's the takeaway from the piece.
The peace walls, like the Belfast Agreement itself, have brought an important measure of temporary peace to Northern Ireland. Paramilitaries from the Catholic and Protestant communities are no longer killing each other. However, neither the walls nor the agreement resolves the long-term future of the people of Northern Ireland. Even with the important peace initiatives such as those promoted by the Corrymeela Community, the Protestant and Catholic religious and cultural communities are far from coming to an understanding of their shared past and future. Economically, Northern Ireland must find a way to sustain itself as it cannot count on millions of British pounds indefinitely.
Finally, the Belfast agreement left open the possibility that the people of Northern Ireland could vote to change the country's political status at a future date. While currently there is no pressure from the Catholic population to declare the country's independence or to join with the Republic of Ireland in a united Ireland, there is a good chance that the question of whether to do so will become much more salient as the country's demographics continue to favour its growing Catholic population.
