Essay 1: From the knowledge you have at present, what factors in your views, contributed to the 35-years conflict in Northern Ireland
The conflict in Northern Ireland, as any conflict in history and in any other place in the world, did not erupt on any specific date, but emerged as the result of several years of escalating incidents between Catholics and Protestants. This latest episode of the long-standing conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland has been going on for thirty-five years, and although a peace agreement has been reached, a peaceful resolution to this costly struggle is not yet in sight.
Robberies, bombings, assassinations, and terror tactics led to a greatly decreasing person’s sense of security and a feeling of very restricted personal freedom. This deterioration of the social conditions was not without any impact on the economy: the constant threat of bombings, the high cost of security and lack of stable market led many factories to close down or shift their production elsewhere where the cost of security is minimal. The decline of Northern Ireland ‘s economy was also accelerated because of the decline of the world economy in the early 1970s and the second oil shock of 1979. As a result of the economy’s recession, the province’s dependence on Great Britain for subsidies to maintain its standard of living increased dramatically. The conflict in Northern Ireland shaped up to a great human tragedy.
At a political level, the situation was marked by an increasing discrimination of Catholics to the benefit of the Protestants. Politics in Northern Ireland have always been dominated by the necessity for Protestant control of the government and its processes. The requirement that a Protestant majority be created in Northern Ireland was a major goal in drawing the boundary for the Partition of Ireland. Actually, the counties with higher percentage of Catholics were considered as a threat to Protestant control of the country,...