Social Psychology Special Issue

A difference of opinion; hope and fear in post-conflict society
peace, they can’t; all that happens is
disenchantment with a government
system that appears to be selling them
out.’ (Cross party high office, 2014).
This is not effective and is harbouring resentment
and entrenching sectarian identities. It
is time to move tentatively toward truth
recovery and there is a will for it. However,
several participants closed with the statement
tiocfaidh ár lá (our day will come)
CNR, or similarly never surrender! PLU;
these cries alienate the out-group whilst they
unite the in-group. There is still hope that
the ‘rational people win the day’ (Equality
officer (political), 2014) but how can one in
lamentation be healed, when past sorrows
are considered an obstacle to peace and the
only people listening are dissidents with an
agenda for more conflict?
Conclusions
Although most of the peace building literature
states we must slay the monster of structural
inequalities before we can have lasting
peace and reconciliation (Barnett, 2008;
Kriesberg, 1998; Ramsbotham, Woodhouse &
Miall, 2011), the findings from this study
suggest that even this is a problem that exacerbates
and compounds the sectarian divide.
Statistics show 70 per cent of the poorest
communities are from the Catholic Nationalist
Republican population (Nolan, 2014),
therefore, an equal sharing of the subvention
from Westminster cannot be considered
before a level playing field is established
(Community relations worker language
(CNR) 2013). This, in turn, causes Protestant
Unionist Loyalist communities’ to cry, ‘we are
losing everything’ (Political Leader Unionist,
2014). It would appear logical that if 70 per
cent of public poverty spending is to go to the
other side then you must be losing out.
Sadly, there is systematic ‘brain drain’ in
place where few are prepared to stay once
they are qualified, forming a process of
constant refinement of opinion, a concentration
of ideologies like a slow squeezing of
the juice of rationality (Community relations
worker language (PUL), 2014). Yet still
people flock to aid in recovery, reconciliation
and peace building.
Northern Ireland is, now as ever, a beautiful
paradox: As the title suggests there is
hope for peace in Northern Ireland, despite
fear inducing a retrenchment of identity in
some. Psychology can add to the understanding
of the causes of violence and add
rationality to what, at first glance, seem irrational
outpourings of hate.
Correspondence
Candida Darling
PhD candidate,
Department of Psychology,
Liverpool Hope University.
E-mail: candida.darling@gmail.com
Issue 97 December 2015 19