The New Politics of Sinn Fein 1985-2007 : Community and Identity

Looks at how far the politics of the Provisional Republican movement in Northern Ireland underwent a fundamental transformation from the mid-1980s onwards.

In explaining how and why this occurred, the focus is on the development of certain ideological themes, such as community and identity politics.

The discussion places this development in a wider context by considering whether the Provisional movement now acts as a pseudo-state within the nationalist community in Northern Ireland and how these political and ideological processes reflect broader shifts in the pattern of politics, both within Northern Ireland and internationally.

The book contains an extensive range of interviews with republican activists and leaders at all levels, former prisoners, community activists, British officials and politicians and leading Unionists who have been involved with the negotiations with Sinn Fein.

One of the central themes is the developing relationship between the state and former radical challengers to its authority. The book argues that the British government's social and economic strategy of community development from the 1970s onwards consciously strengthened the Provisionals as de facto partners in governance initially at local and, later the wider communal level after 1998.

Consideration is given to the impact that the events of 11th September 2001 and the continuing 'war on terrorism' have had on the range of military-political strategies available to the Provisionals.

The author concludes that the changed international political imperatives of governments and populations seem now to define the limited political space open to the Provisionals.