Making the Peace in Ireland opens by considering what type of conflict it is in Ireland and how it fits into wider British and European patterns. Moving through early attempts to find a solution in Northern Ireland and their inevitable failure, Jeremy Smith then focuses on the 1990s, the Joint Declaration of 1993 and the cease fires of 1994, leading up to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and the new Assembly and Executive. Finally, Smith turns to the problems left outstanding, especially dissident Republican paramilitary groups, arms decommissioning, future Loyalist parades and the vexed question of policing in Northern Ireland. He looks also at other ethnic conflicts in Palestine, Basque and Kosovo and the struggles for resolution there.

Introduction. 1. Nature of the Problem. 2. Illusive Dream: Peace Initiatives, 1972-1992. 3. Thinking the Unthinkable, 1992-2000. 4. Loose Ends. Conclusion. Maps and Chronology. Further Reading