Much has been said about the dysfunctional aspects of ghetto life for society generally, that processes which promote increasing social integration in society are much more functional than ghettoisation. This research set out to examine whether in fact the ghetto does perform a function for people in society. It also set out to examine the dynamics of ghetto life, specifically in relation to the nationalist West Belfast ghetto, how relationships and bonds form within the ghetto and between the ghetto and external society and how these bonds and relationships alter with time and event. These themes were examined primarily through a general study of the West Belfast area accompanied by in-depth studies of two different communities within West Belfast and a comparative in-depth study of a non ghetto community in Antrim New Town. The findings have relevance for research into community life, community conflict and ghettoisation. The main research instruments were semi-structured interviews with residents, community leaders and statutory workers in the areas concerned. These were backed up by a detailed examination of recorded documentation and an element of non-participant observation. The thesis has been divided into five main sections. The Background section sets the scene for the investigation and contains chapters examining existing literature on community life, conflict and ghettoisation, outlining the aims and methodology employed and the historical background to the geographical areas concerned. The Section on Social Organisation contains chapters examining aspects of community life in all the areas concerned and how these were reflected in community group activity. The third Section deals with Internal Dynamics and concentrates on Chapters examining Religion, Politics and Law and Order within the ghetto and comparing these to the situation in the non-ghetto community. A fourth section deals with the relationships between the ghetto and the State and its institutions and includes a Chapter on the State and the security forces. The main conclusions contained in the final chapter in the fifth and final section, are that far from being dysfunctional the ghetto has a function both in terms of the people living there and in terms of society itself; that far from being one monolithic entity the ghetto is characterised by the existence of a variety of different spectra of opinions and activities which are dynamic and alter with time and event and that relationships within the ghetto are influenced by, and they, themselves in turn influence, external factors.