Abandoning Historical Conflict?

Peter Shirlow is Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast. Jon Tonge is Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool. James McAuley is Professor of Sociology and Irish Studies at the University of Huddersfield. Catherine McGlyn is Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Huddersfield

• Introduction1. Politically motivated prisoners in Northern Ireland2. Former prisoners in a global context3. Political views and understandings4. Imprisonment, ideological development and change5. Political and tactical change among former prisoners6. Conflict transformation and perceptions of the ‘other’7. Former prisoners and societal reconstructionConclusionBibliography

The book focuses on the role of former Northern Ireland republican and loyalist prisoners in conflict transformation and the significance of the repudiation or maintenance of the prisoners' previously held views. Shirlow et al.'s findings greatly complement the work in terrorism studies in so far as they advance the debate. Shirlow et al. convincingly show that ideological considerations are virtually irrelevant in disengagement.