The London School of Economics & Political Science The Trouble with Studying the Troubles: How and Why an Epistemic Community Emerges By: Corey R Jentry A thesis submitted to the Department of Government of the London School of Economics and Political Science for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, 24 February 2017. 1 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MRes/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 91,286 words. 2 ABSTRACT This research is concerned with issues of episteme, epistemology, and community. It asks how and why an epistemic community emerges? It looks at the study of the Northern Ireland conflict and peace process as covered in the British and Irish political science academy in order to answer this question. This research is thus ultimately about knowledge, knowledge creators, and the circumstances and conditions in which they develop. It is also a case study of what happens when academics engage with political events. Do they act as innovators or simply as scholar who react to changing political environments? This research explains the emergence of the Northern Ireland epistemic community using the boundary object concept. It asserts that knowledge communities do not develop de novo but instead emerge through academics struggles and frustrations with existing knowledge paradigms. A boundary object is the means by scholars can come together and challenge such paradigms and build new knowledge infrastructures. Through the emergence of the Northern Ireland peace process and scholar’s (re)engagement with and application of consociational theory and comparative methods this epistemic community was made possible. This research looks at the barriers that prevented the emergence of this community during the Troubles, its emergence following the outbreak of the Northern Ireland peace process, and its evolution following the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. Additionally, we look at the conflicts that developed between members of this community and how these academics define themselves both professionally and in relation to a community they are a part of yet see themselves as a part from. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To begin I would like thank my supervisor Bill Kissane for his constant guidance, patience, and tolerance with me in the pursuit of this research and its development. There is no way this dissertation would have been written without him and the support offered by LSE. I am not a natural intellectual or academic, Bill you helped me every step of the way. LSE thanks for giving me the opportunity. When I began my university journey some 13 years ago it was because of the encouragement and pushiness of Dr. Richard Presnell M.D.. At that time the only option I saw for a kid raised in the mildew scented trailer-parks of Grovetown, Georgia with no high school diploma, a history of delinquency, and a broken family was maybe the military, if they would have me. Because of Richard and his unwavering support and encouragement I applied for a spot in a community college (against my will) and am today able to submit a PhD dissertation at one of the best schools in the world. Richard, I love you and I couldn’t have done any of this without you. Thank you for being like a father to me. Who would have thought it would have gone this far? My life has been so full of people that have loved and supported me in this process. They say that it takes a village to raise a child. It has taken a village to educate this one. I wish that Henry Carmack was here to see this, I think he would be proud of me. I miss him every day and I couldn’t have made it this far without him. He told me to “keep trudging” even when I wanted to quit. If there is a heaven I hope he is there and looking down of me. Philip Ward I want to thank for helping me see the difference between lack of education and stupidity. I have spent most of my academic life being convinced that I was stupid. Yet because of you I learned that I didn’t lack brains, I just lacked the people to help me learn to use mine properly. If it wasn’t for all our arguments, debates, fights, and conversations I would never have found the drive to do this. There is are so many other people that I could thank and acknowledge that I would need another dissertation to do so. It is suffice that I have been blessed with so many people these last five years. My cup runneth over! To my late mother Patricia M Jentry, this is for you. Thank you for being such a strong woman and giving me everything I needed to do this. I love you mom. I want to thank Pacy Markman. In the last year you have come into my life and began opening my eyes to the miracle of it. You have shown me the way forward and I look forward to continuing the next phase of my journey with you. Now it is time for me to go forth and reach for the stars! 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration of Authorship ................................................................................................ 2 Abstract ........................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 4 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 9 The Question ............................................................................................................................ 9 Conceptualizing Epistemic Communities .................................................................................. 15 Theory and Boundary Objects ................................................................................................. 19 Consocationalism and Boundaries ........................................................................................... 20 The Question of Methodology................................................................................................. 22 Questions of Structure vs Agency ............................................................................................ 26 Arguments ............................................................................................................................. 29 Thesis Layout .......................................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................... 33 Literature Review & Theory ............................................................................................ 33 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 33 Northern Ireland ..................................................................................................................... 34 The Knowledge of Knowledge ................................................................................................. 45 Agents, Structures, and Knowledge Transformation ................................................................ 49 Boundaries and Objects .......................................................................................................... 54 Translation problems .............................................................................................................. 55 Conceptualizing the Concept ................................................................................................... 57 Summarizing .......................................................................................................................... 62 Wrapping it up ....................................................................................................................... 63 Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................... 64 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 64 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 64 Abstracting ............................................................................................................................. 65 Narrative as Praxis .................................................................................................................. 67 Identity .................................................................................................................................. 71 The How of this Method ........................................................................................................