‘After the dust settles’: The experiences of local peace and reconciliation organisations in post-Agreement Northern Ireland. A case study of the Corrymeela Community Kirsty Campbell This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at the University of St Andrews March 2020 1 Thesis Title: ‘After the dust settles’: The experiences of local peace and reconciliation organisations in post-Agreement Northern Ireland. A case study of the Corrymeela Community Name of candidate: Kirsty Campbell Student ID: 080006864 Name of degree: PhD International Relations Date of submission: 24/03/2020 2 Contents Ethical Approval Letter .......................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 8 Chapter One: Introduction ................................................................................................... 11 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 11 The case study of the Corrymeela Community ............................................................................ 15 Research Question .......................................................................................................................... 16 Methodology .................................................................................................................................... 17 Positionality ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Discourses ........................................................................................................................................ 22 Justification ..................................................................................................................................... 23 Overview of the research ................................................................................................................ 24 Language and Terminology ........................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Two: Explaining the Corrymeela Community..................................................... 29 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 29 The foundation, ethos and history of Corrymeela ....................................................................... 30 Organisational structure and leadership ...................................................................................... 34 Corrymeela and the third sector.................................................................................................... 37 Corrymeela’s organisational identity ............................................................................................ 40 A Peace and Reconciliation Centre ............................................................................................... 40 An Ecumenical Christian Community .......................................................................................... 46 Corrymeela’s ecumenical ethos ................................................................................................. 47 The ecumenical space.................................................................................................................. 50 Ecumenism now .......................................................................................................................... 51 A place of welcome, meeting and encounter ................................................................................. 55 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter Three: Consociationalism, Civil Society and Social Capital ............................... 61 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 61 Context and Consociationalism ..................................................................................................... 62 Civil society approaches to peacebuilding .................................................................................... 67 Social capital theory: a theoretical framework ............................................................................ 72 A definition of social capital ....................................................................................................... 72 Civil Society and Social Capital ................................................................................................. 74 Social capital and the State ........................................................................................................ 75 The negative side of social capital .............................................................................................. 76 Social Capital in Northern Ireland ............................................................................................ 80 3 Social capital and economic resources ...................................................................................... 82 The specificities of social capital in Northern Ireland ............................................................. 83 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 87 Chapter Four: The application of theory: identifying social capital at Corrymeela ...... 90 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 90 The discrete elements of social capital and their application in practice ................................... 91 Trust ............................................................................................................................................. 91 Reciprocity ................................................................................................................................... 93 Shared norms .............................................................................................................................. 93 Northern Irish cultural norms ....................................................................................................... 94 Norms in the Corrymeela Community .......................................................................................... 99 The language of social capital at Corrymeela ............................................................................ 100 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 102 Chapter Five: The strengths of Corrymeela’s formal programme work ...................... 104 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 104 Corrymeela’s formal programme traditions: creating the necessary preconditions for social capital ............................................................................................................................................. 105 Empirical examples of social capital at Corrymeela .................................................................. 114 Group facilitation .......................................................................................................................... 121 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 128 Chapter Six: Funding, professionalisation and perverse social capital: the thorns in Corrymeela’s side................................................................................................................. 132 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 132 Funding PROs in Northern Ireland: a brief overview .............................................................. 133 The impact of funding changes on Corrymeela ......................................................................... 136 ‘Strings attached’ funding ............................................................................................................ 140 The impact on programme quality .............................................................................................. 147 Funding’s impact on staff, members and resources .................................................................. 152 Professionalisation ........................................................................................................................ 157 Corrymeela’s staff, strategy and structural challenges ............................................................. 159 Economic barriers at Corrymeela ............................................................................................... 165 Programme challenges: perverse social capital .......................................................................... 170 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................