Political Leadership and the Northern Ireland Peace Process
Subtitle: Role, Capacity and Effect (St. Antony's)
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: December 26, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 216
ISBN-13: 9780230500372
Subjects: Political leaders & leadership; Terrorism, freedom fighters, armed struggle; Peace And Peace Movements; Political Theory; Political Science; History - General History; Politics/International Relations; Europe - Great Britain - General; Government - Comparative; Political Science / Foreign Legal Systems; Europe - Ireland; History & Theory - General; Northern Ireland; Peace movements; Political leadership
Description: Examining the phenomenon of political leadership in the particular context of the Northern Ireland peace process, Cathy Gormley-Heenan argues that much of the literature on political leadership in general has made little meaningful connection with the issues of peace, conflict and divided societies. In this critical interpretation of the Northern Ireland peace process she shows how the 'leadership lens' offers insights not offered by conventional analyses of peacemaking processes. She suggests that political leadership was often necessarily contradictory in style and substance, and argues that such political leadership can best be described as 'chameleonic leadership'; an inconsistent leadership which shifts according to the opinion of others and the climate in which it exists.