Identity Politics and Women in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine
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BEYOND THE ETHNONATIONAL DIVIDE: IDENTITY POLITICS AND WOMEN IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND ISRAEL/PALESTINE by Siobhan Byrne A thesis submitted to the Department of Political Studies In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada (January, 2009) Copyright © Siobhan Byrne, 2009 Abstract Beyond the Ethnonational Divide: Identity Politics and Women in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine is a comparative analysis of the conflict resolution processes and peace-building strategies employed in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine, focusing on the experiences of women’s feminist peace movements. I draw on feminist thought in the international relations and comparative politics literatures, as well as the critical identity politics literatures developed outside these fields, to demonstrate the value of broadening our understanding of social identity in conflict. In particular, I apply a post-positivist realist approach to identity to evaluate the extent to which women’s feminist peace communities develop untested ideas related to conflict resolution and peace-building in these cases. I argue that the dominant ethnonational conflict resolution literature, developed largely within the comparative politics field, advances an ‘elite accommodation’ strategy for resolving conflict that grants the most militant and sometimes violent ethnonational leaders the authority to speak for the body public during transformative constitutional moments. I propose that conflict resolution schemes that privilege ethnonational elite political figures and treat the interests of all actors in intrastate conflict as fundamentally derived from ethnonational interests do not produce a stable post-conflict period of peace and governance, they fail to secure human rights, equality guarantees and justice provisions for all communities in a post-conflict period, and they fail to capitalize on the local, participant knowledge and alternate visions of conflict resolution and peace that are developed in “subaltern” identity-based communities. In my view, when we consider the genesis and development of the feminist peace movements in Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland, we can see how a politics based on solidarity and alliances, across ethnic, national, gender, class and sexuality divides, is informed by the endogenous conditions of conflict and also the exogenous development of transnational feminist theory and praxis. The negotiation of identity in women’s feminist peace communities has been ii complex and, at times, difficult. However, it has also led to the development of novel ideas related to peace, inclusion, human rights and justice that have been sidelined, to varying degrees, in the conflict resolution processes in both cases. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Eleanor MacDonald and Dr. John McGarry for their guidance, critical insight and unwavering encouragement. This dissertation would not have been possible without their support. I would also like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to the faculty, staff and friends in the Department of Politics, my friends in Kingston and overseas and to my family: to Dr. Wayne Cox, for all of his support, advice and friendship; to Mira Bachvarova and Nick Hardy, for their generosity and hospitality (and for the long conversations over countless cups of tea); to all of my friends in Kingston and beyond for the great discussions and debates – I learned so much; to Barb Murphy and Karen Vandermey for their assistance throughout the process; and to my family for their love and support. I owe a special debt of gratitude to the many women and activists in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine who graciously agreed to speak with me about their important work. Their frankness, enthusiasm and friendship were truly inspiring. This research was also made possible through the generous financial support of the Ireland Canada University Foundation, the Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University, the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program and the Ethnicity and Democratic Governance Project, Queen’s University. In addition to these agencies, I would also like to thank Dr. Jennifer Todd, the Geary Institute, University College Dublin; Dr. Dan Avnon, Gilo Center for Citizenship, Democracy and Civic Education, Hebrew University; and Dr. Carmel Roulston, University of Ulster, Jordanstown, Northern Ireland for graciously providing me with the space and tools necessary to complete my research. I dedicate this thesis to my partner Josh Rubenstein, who has shared this journey with me. From Jerusalem to Delhi and Belfast to Brisbane – these have been such exciting years. Thank you. iv Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................................ii Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................iv Table of contents..............................................................................................................................v Chapter 1 Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 1.1 Ethnonational explanations of the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine.......5 1.2 Attempts at conflict resolution in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine ..........................7 1.3 Statement of research problem..........................................................................................9 1.4 Notes on causation ..........................................................................................................11 1.5 Methodology: Research design, the comparative case method and data-gathering techniques..............................................................................................................................14 1.6 Conclusion: Explanation of dissertation outline..............................................................26 Chapter 2 Literature Review..........................................................................................................30 2.1 Ethnonational theories of conflict ...................................................................................31 2.2 Gramscian influences ......................................................................................................40 2.3 The identity politics literature .........................................................................................42 2.4 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................64 Chapter 3 This History of Women’s Activism and Women’s Peace Movements in Northern Ireland and Israel/Palestine............................................................................................................69 3.1 The early years of women’s activism..............................................................................70 3.2 Women’s activism in Northern Ireland: 1970s ...............................................................74 3.3 Women’s activism in Israel: 1970s .................................................................................83 3.4 Women’s activism in the occupied Palestinian territories: 1970s...................................91 3.5 Women’s activism in Northern Ireland: 1980s ...............................................................93 3.6 Women’s activism in Israel/Palestine: 1980s..................................................................97 3.7 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................108 Chapter 4 Comparing the Peace Processes: The 1993 Oslo Accords and the 1998 Belfast Agreement....................................................................................................................................110 4.1 The Israeli-Palestinian peace process............................................................................112 v 4.2 The Northern Ireland peace process and the creation of the Women’s Coalition Party122 4.3 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................132 Chapter 5 From Cross-community to Coalition Models of Activism: The Experiences of Feminist Peace Organizations.....................................................................................................................135 5.1 The challenges of cross-community activism in Israel/Palestine..................................137 5.2 Difficulties associated with cross-community activism in Israel/Palestine and Northern Ireland .................................................................................................................................143 5.3 Conclusion.....................................................................................................................170 Chapter 6 Lessons Learned from the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition Party and the State of the Women’s Feminist Peace Movements Today........................................................................174 6.1 End of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition Party.................................................176 6.2 Northern Ireland: State of the women’s movement today.............................................195 6.3 Israel/Palestine: State of