Martina McKnight

Bringing Down the Walls: Young People's Perspectives on Peace Walls in Belfast

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present young peoples attitudes to peace‐walls in Belfast and whether they feel that these peace‐walls should be temporary or permanent structures.Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on questionnaire responses from 125 young people between the ages of 14 and 15 from six schools located in areas in Belfast where Catholics and Protestants live side by side yet apart. The paper is also based on their responses to photo prompts, focus group discussions and images of peace‐walls drawn by some of the young people.Findings – The young people produced six discourses on peace‐walls in Belfast and these are outlined in the paper.Research limitations/implications – The paper endorses the necessity of incorporating young peoples views of peace‐walls in Belfast as a prelude to finding ways in which to challenge taken‐for‐granted assumptions about the legacy of the conflict in Northern Ireland.Originality/value – The paper is original in that it addresses t...

Maternal situations: sectarianism and civility in a divided city

This paper explores the tensions between civility and sectarianism in contemporary Belfast. Drawing on interviews with mothers engaged in raising young children in the largely working-class and divided inner city, the paper offers a situated account of the dynamics of social reproduction and change. This is pursued through an analysis of the interplay between expectations of civility and sectarianism in three situations: walking, shopping and playing. The tensions and dilemmas of maternal action as the divided inner city is navigated indicate the gendered character of civility, an important emerging norm facilitating social change in the post-conflict era. The situation of motherhood itself, both at the centre of ethno-national reproduction and at the interface of public and private life, is not insignificant in routinely drawing mothers into the everyday dynamics of post-conflict continuity and change.

Urban Intersections: Religion and Violence in Belfast

Abstract Addressing the intersections of religion and violence in ‘post conflict’ Belfast, this paper focuses on the nexus between religion, violence and memory. It distinguishes between the churches (institutionalised religion) embedded in the physical and social environment of the city, and popular religion that recurs in the contexts of parades, protests and sectarian conflict. Wider debates on the relationships between religion, violence and politics are integrated with recent empirical data. We argue that while asymmetries between Protestantism and Catholicism continue to inform politics and vice versa, there are also signs of change in the religious politics of Belfast and in how they accommodate violence.

Growing up in divided societies: confronting continuity and change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the six main articles which represent the special issue on “Growing up in divided societies” and to locate the articles within a framework of childrens experiences of divided societies.Design/methodology/approach – The article reviews the main methodologies employed by authors of the six articles and evaluates how these methodologies contribute to debates on researching children and young peoples everyday lives.Findings – The paper presents the core findings of the six articles and discusses these in relation to core themes, methodologies and policy implications.Originality/value – The authors argue that there is a dearth of research on children and young peoples everyday lives in politically contested societies and the special issue responds to this vacuum.

Bordering in Transition: Young People’s Experiences in ‘Post-Conflict’ Belfast

Borders are static and dynamic, materially inscribed on the landscape, spatially negotiated and symbolically and mentally (de/re)constructed. While built upon contested histories and memories, they are also everyday constructions and socially organised achievements that reflect and reinforce notions of identity, belonging, territoriality and ‘othering’. Moreover, while the social conditions that give support and saliency to borders can be disrupted, certain preconditions, tendencies and dispositions may continue to affect embodied processes and practices and the everyday dynamics of those who live in or near border spaces. Emotions are deeply embedded in borders and thus border spaces can remain relevant even if the rationale for their continued significance has apparently gone. As Agnew (2008, p. 1) succinctly notes, ‘borders matter both because they have real effects and … trap thinking about and acting in the world in territorial terms’.

Religion, Violence and Cities: An Introduction

Abstract The catalyst for this special issue was a symposium entitled Religion, Violence and Cities, held under the auspices of a five year inter-disciplinary research project on ethno-nationally divided cities.1 While this project expressly addressed cities divided by ethno-national conflict, it was clear from the beginning that there was an important religious dimension to such conflicts in most, if not all, the cities being studied.2 The rationale of the Special Issue is to examine how this religious dimension exacerbates (or moderates) urban violence within a broad comparative context. Although three of the following articles are informed by Project research, we draw the net wider to encompass a broader geographical spread from the Balkans, the Middle East, Nigeria and Japan.