Bernadette C. Hayes

Sowing Dragon's Teeth: Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland

While much attention has been devoted to political efforts to solve the Northern Ireland problem, less attention has been given to the role of political violence in sustaining the conflict. We argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict is widespread exposure to political violence among the civil population. By 1998, thirty years after the conflict started, one in seven of the population reported being a victim of violence; one in five had a family member killed or injured; and one in four had been caught up in an explosion. Such widespread exposure to violence exists alongside latent support for paramilitarism among a significant minority of both communities. Using 1998 survey data, we show that exposure to violence serves to enhance public support for paramilitary groups, as well as to reduce support for the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons.

Social Contact, Cultural Marginality or Economic Self-Interest? Attitudes Towards Immigrants in Northern Ireland

Although scholars of mass political behaviour have proposed various explanations for why an individual would oppose immigration, the relative impact of these various explanations has rarely been assessed. It is with this omission in mind that this study assesses empirically three alternative theories in explaining attitudes towards immigrants: the social contact hypothesis, cultural marginality and economic self-interest. Using the 2003 Northern Ireland component of the European Social Survey, the results suggest that social exposure and cultural marginality are the two key explanations, independently important, in predicting pro-immigration attitudes within this society. Of these two theoretical perspectives, however, social exposure, particularly in terms of having a previously established friendship network of immigrants, stands out as the most important and consistent predictor of attitudes. It is to these two factors, especially prior social exposure, that pro-immigrant politicians and policy makers should direct their attention.

Religious identification and moral attitudes: the British case

British society is currently embroiled in a variety of controversial social issues. An identifiable set of these disputes concerning artificial insemination, AIDS victims homosexual rights, and pornography are all debated as moral issues. This study examines the impact of religious identification on public attitudes in relation to these moral issues. The results show a marked variation in patterns of religious identification and significant differences in relation to moral attitudes. Religious non-affiliates are more supportive of AIDS victims, less disapproving of homosexuals, and less likely to espouse a more conservative view in relation to either artificial insemination methods or pornography than their religious affiliates. Multivariate analyses, however, suggests that religious identification only affects certain types of moral issues, namely attitudes towards AIDS victims, homosexuals, and pornography. When various other factors are controlled, religious non-affiliates are generally more supportive of AIDS victims, homosexuals, and the public availability of pornography than religious affiliates. Furthermore, with the one exception of pornography, this relationship remained regardless of whether Independent Apostates or Stable Independents are considered. Thus, for these issues at least, it is the lack of religious identification per se, or current religious independence, which constitutes one primary factor in explaining moral attitudes.

Marketing politics to voters: late deciders in the 1992 British election

The proportion of British voters who delay making their voting choice until the general election campaign is under way now make up nearly one quarter of the electorate. This large and electorally volatile group have the potential to determine the election result. However, because late deciders are less politically aware and less committed than other voters, they are notoriously difficult to influence. Using the 1992 British Election Study survey, shows that the Liberal‐Democrats made a slight net gain in votes from late deciders, but that for all three of the major parties the proportions of conversions were cancelled out by defections. Overall, the results suggest that political marketing strategies would be more cost effective if they targeted voters who made up their minds in the one or two years prior to the election, using precampaign marketing techniques.

Education as a mechanism for conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

How education systems operate in divided societies is an increasingly important question for academics and educational practitioners as well as for governments. The question is particularly pertinent in post‐conflict societies, where education is a key mechanism for resolving conflict between divided communities. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, this article sheds new light on the role of education in conflict resolution by examining the long‐term impact of segregated and integrated education on attitudes towards community relations and levels of contact between the Protestant and Catholic communities. The results suggest that individuals who had attended an integrated school are significantly more likely to have friends and neighbours from across the religious divide and that these friendship networks translate into a more optimistic view of future community relations. This is not the case, however, when kinship networks are considered. The evidence from Northern Ireland suggests that the education system can be a source of both conflict and cohesion depending on the nature of the school system as well as the particular source of division to be addressed.

Gender, Postmaterialism, and Feminism in Comparative Perspective

Value change and the feminist movement represent two major shifts in mass political orientations and behavior in the late twentieth century. Yet we know little about how these two fundamental changes relate to one another. This article addresses this question by analyzing the relationship between postmaterialist values and feminism among 13 advanced industrial democracies, using the 1990-91 World Values Survey. The results suggest that both gender and postmaterialist values are associated with feminism: women and those who adopt a postmaterialist stance are notably more likely to endorse feminist beliefs compared to men or materialists. Religion also plays a major role, both in terms of individual religious self-identity, and in terms of the religious culture of the country in question. The relations among gender, postmaterialism, and feminism are complex and deserve more careful analysis.

Victims as moral beacons: victims and perpetrators in Northern Ireland

‘Victim’ and ‘perpetrator’ are problematic legal, moral and political categories, and public policies towards them are complicated by their contested status. This is particularly the case in Northern Ireland where conceptions of perpetrators and victims, including the right to the label ‘victim’, has caused much division and debate. Despite this controversy, to date previous research in relation to this issue has been extremely limited and this is particularly the case when evidence based on nationally representative survey data is considered. It is with this omission in mind that this paper focuses on the relationship between victimhood status and public perceptions concerning the perpetrators of the conflict within this society. Using the 2004 Life and Times Survey, the results suggest some notable differences between the two main religious communities—Protestant and Catholic—both in terms of their victimhood status as well as whom they hold primarily responsible for the violence. The evidence suggests that those who claim a victimhood status are notably more likely than those who do not to adopt a partisan stance when identifying the main protagonists of the conflict, and this is particularly the case within the Catholic community. This finding calls into question the claim that victims should constitute the ‘moral beacon’ in post-conflict societies against which other people measure their own capacity for forgiveness or revenge.

Religious independents within Western industrialized nations : A socio-demographic profile

As of yet, relatively little information exists within Western industrialized nations regarding religious independents, or individuals who claim no religious affiliation. This is particularly the case when countries besides the United States and Canada are considered. Mindful of this omission, this study uses recent nationally representative survey data to compare the religious convictions and socio-demographic background of religious independents versus religious affiliates in the United States and across nine Western European nations. The results suggest that religious independents may be considered a distinct group at least as far as these ten Western nations are concerned. As in previous North American research, not only are religious independents notably more likely to eschew a religious conviction than their religiously affiliated colleagues, but they are also significantly more likely to be young, male, non-married, and well-educated. Of these various characteristics, however, it is differences in terms of gender which stand out as the most notable and consistent discriminator across nations

Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

Most of the research on paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland has concentrated on either the historical origins of paramilitary organizations or the background characteristics of individuals who engage in this activity. Less attention has been given to analyzing public attitudes in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland toward the use of paramilitary violence as a political tool within this society. In this paper we argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict and the current impasse over the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons is the widespread latent support for paramilitary activity among the civilian population in both these societies. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence in Northern Ireland will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons.

Who voted for peace? Public support for the 1998 Northern Ireland agreement

Abstract The April 1998 Good Friday Agreement represents the most promising attempt in 30 years to settle the Northern Ireland conflict. Yet for more than a year after it was ratified by an overwhelming majority of voters, its key principles remained unimplemented, and on two occasions the executive has been suspended. In this article we examine public support for the Agreement and analyse the patterns of voting in the referendum. Using the 1998 Northern Ireland Referendum and Election Survey, we show that while almost all Catholics voted for the Agreement, only 57 percent of Protestants did so, and many of those expressed widespread concern and indecision. For Protestants, a yes vote in the referendum reflected a desire for the return of devolved government, the perception that the Agreement represented a ‘new beginning’, and trust in David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader. Catholic views of whether the Agreement would bring Irish unity centred on territoriality issues. The absence of widespread, cross‐community support for the Agreements key principles helps to explain the difficulties in both establishing and maintaining a devolved, powersharing executive.