Coalitions in Northern Ireland have been organizing across the ethno-nationalist divide for decades. Yet, while empirical research has addressed challenges of, and potential for, organizing across ethnonationalism, the ways in which coalition members attend to their complex subjectivites have been overlooked. Using a critical, constructivist approach to qualitative research, this study of Alliance for Choice Belfast sheds light upon the impacts of attending to / overlooking difference and power dynamics. Data was collected through field research, semi-structured interviews and document analysis, and analysed through the lens of radical coalition building, along with theories that address the complexity of identities. The findings suggest that members of the coalition have created a depoliticized coalitional space in order to avoid conflict and unite around their campaign goal. This has had implications in terms of homogenizing womens experiences, overlooking elements of class privilege, and falling back into traditional practices of avoidance around controversial issues. / Theoretical, Cultural and International Studies in Education

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 411-435).

Thesis (M.A.)--Baylor University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 82-85)

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 130-135). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2009. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed March 23, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2005. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 215-229).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2006. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. "Research for this dissertation took place from September 2003 to September 2005, and included two field research visits to Northern Ireland during September 3-17, 2003 and April 5-June 8, 2005"--P. 3. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 186-199). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Syftet med denna studie är att studera symboler som används i ritualer som är religiöst präglade, i detta fall en nordirländsk parad, för att bygga vidare på forskning kring ritualer och symbolers betydelse för social identitet. För att besvara detta syfte formulerades följande två frågeställningar: Hur kan symboler i tolfte juli paraden tolkas utifrån social identitetsteori? På vilka sätt ger denna ritual uttryck för de fyra komponenter som är del av David J. Knottnerus (1997) strukturella ritualiseringsteori? Genom en kombination av en sekundärobservation och tematisk innehållsanalys analyseras symbolerna som används i denna ritual. Det material som använts var en form av visuellt material, ett längre videoklipp från YouTube. Symbolerna i ritualen tolkas utifrån social identitetsteori, och ritualen i dess helhet betraktas med den teoretiska referensram som är angiven av strukturell ritualiseringsteori. Genom den analytiska processen har det framkommit att det går att identifiera vissa framträdande aspekter av social identitet i ritualer. Resultatet av denna studie visade på att ritualen i fråga bidrar till stärkandet av den sociala identiteten hos nordirländska protestanter, och bidrar till stereotypisering inom gruppen. Det finns även indikationer på att denna ritual fyller funktionen av att säkerställa en form av positiv social identitet som är distinkt. Grunden för denna sociala identitet har en religiös prägel. Det går även att identifiera två av de fyra komponenter som utgör grunden för strukturell ritualiseringsteori. Det går däremot inte att göra några påståenden om vad detta har för betydelse för ritualen i dess helhet eller dess betydelse för den enskilde individen. / Northern Ireland was, for many years, the main subject in various forms of social studies. But in recent years Northern Ireland has been overlooked by many, and is a topic that is dated. In light of recent political events in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland it is of the utmost importance that we revisit Northern Irish society and its social landscape. The purpose of this study is to delve deeper into the importance of symbols in rituals that are, in one way or another, religious to a certain extent. In order for this study to fulfil its purpose it will seek to answer two questions. The first question concerns how symbols in the Twelfth (or Orangemen’s Day) parade can be interpreted with help of social identity theory, and the second question posed concerns itself with how the ritual, in its entirety, can be seen with help of structural ritualization theory. Through a form of secondary observation and a thematic content analysis, it was concluded that there is a clear indication of social identity that takes shape in the usage of symbols in rituals. Participants in this ritual used symbols to strengthen their social identity, and this in turn contributed to stereotyping within the social group. There was also an indication that the ritual has a function, which is to secure a form of distinct, positive social identity. There was also an indication that religion played a pivotal role in the participants social identity. Lastly, the study managed to identify two out of four components in structural ritualization theory. However, it was difficult to assert the implications that the components of structural ritualization theory had for the ritual in its entirety.

Toward the end of the Troubles, the notion of an Ulster-Scots ethnicity, culture, and language began to be pursued by certain unionists and loyalists more desirous of ‘something more racy of the soil’ (Dowling 2007:54). Peace-building in Northern Ireland had undergone something of a cultural turn: the armed struggle over constitutional and civil rights questions began in the eighties to be ‘ethnically framed’ (Brubaker 2004:166). With cultural identity politically potent, the conception of an Ulster-Scots ethnic group began to gain traction with a tiny but influential subsection of unionists and loyalists. Since the nineties, this movement has gained considerable ground. This thesis represents an intersectional investigation of the inclusion of Ulster-Scots education into schools in Northern Ireland. I contend that Ulster-Scots studies represents an ethnicisation of the conception of a discrete Protestant politico-religious “community” within Northern Ireland, holding considerable potential for the deepening of senses of intercommunal differentiation. Rather than presenting the potential for the deconstruction of ideas of difference, such a pedagogy of reifies, perpetuates, (re)constructs and even deepens such ideas of difference by grounding notions of difference in ethno-cultural and genealogical bases. Ulster-Scots is often described as a means of waging cultural war in post-conflict Northern Ireland (Mac Póilin 1999). Contrariwise, I contend that it represents neither the uncritical, sectarian, loyalist pedagogy of its critics nor the pragmatic and innocuous solution to a problem of durable collective identities of its protagonists. Rather, Ulster-Scots education is embedded in the politics of consociational peace. The logic of consociationalism explicitly entails the maintenance of stark boundaries of ethnic difference. This research does not merely critique of Ulster-Scots pedagogy, but calls into question the whole consociational logic in which it, and the Northern Irish peace process in general, has been embedded.

Peacebuilding efforts are ongoing around the globe today. However, in societies that have transitioned out of conflict and have a strong judiciary, potential exists to use innovative techniques to assist in those efforts. Termed divided societies, these countries which have conflict simmering under the surface may benefit from public interest litigation as a tool for peacebuilding in the region. As peacebuilding and public interest litigation share many of the same goals, litigation may be able to assist the society to more sustainably transition from a culture of conflict to a culture of peace. This paper details current scholarship on public interest litigation, peacebuilding, and post-conflict reconstruction, provides research findings of best practices for litigating from Northern Ireland and South Africa, and discusses the efficacy and limitations of public interest litigation as a tool for peacebuilding.