An outdated peace treaty?
Wednesday 10 April marked the 26th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), the peace treaty that ended the 30-year civil war known as the Troubles. It was agreed to by 94% in Ireland and 71% in Northern Ireland (with 96% of Catholics and 52% Protestants voting Yes).
The GFA was a landmark moment in the province’s history. It put an end to the Protestant community’s monopoly of political institutions and subsequent discrimination of the Catholic population. It gave the Northern Irish the right to be British, Irish or both, and provided that if a majority wanted a reunited Ireland, both Ireland and the UK would have to follow through with it.
To ensure the peaceful coexistence of Protestants and Catholics, three administrative strands were set up: Northern Irish power sharing institutions with a mandatory government coalition; arrangements for cross-border cooperation between Northern Ireland and Ireland; and between Ireland and the UK to deal with common policies and actions.
However, the GFA has been facing increasing calls for reform in the past few years. Firstly, mandatory power sharing means that institutions are frozen into a historical division and do not follow the evolution of society – a change embodied by the rise of Alliance, which does not identify as either a unionist or nationalist party.
More practically, power sharing requirements mean one party can freeze all political activity by refusing to take part in the Executive (government). Since its establishment in 1999, the latter has collapsed over 40% of the time, with the most recent occurrence <a href=”https://www.europeancorrespondent.com/story?s=northern-ireland-enters-a-new-era” style=”text-decoration: underline !important;”>being the DUP's 2022-2024 boycott. Defenders of reform argue that moving away from community representation in institutions would make them more sustainable.