Consociation and Young People: The Case of Northern Ireland and the Good Friday Agreement Generation

Abstract

Employing a reflexive thematic analysis with qualitative semi structured interview data, this research explores the lived experiences and attitudes of members of the Good Friday Agreement generation; the first generation to be born after the Troubles ended, and to have come of age in a Northern Ireland governed by consociationalism. The rationale for this research is twofold: firstly, to expand our knowledge of consociational theory and secondly, to provide a snapshot of contemporary Northern Ireland as experienced by members of the Good Friday Agreement generation. The research focuses on four domains of society that should be expected to be positively impacted by consociationalism, and that are relevant to the lives of young people in Northern Ireland, they are: cross community relations; economic opportunities; security; and governance. In exploring these four domains, the study has attempted to answer the research question from which the investigation originated: what is the possible societal impact of consociationalism, as experienced by members of the Good Friday Agreement generation? It is the position of this study that it would be inaccurate, if not impossible, to conclude one singular narrative when it comes to the social meaning of living in a society governed by consociationalism. The lived experiences and attitudes of members of the Good Friday Agreement generation reveal the complicated, complex, and often contradictory realities of living in a society that continues to bear the scars of its recent violent history, as well as the complexities of the consociational model that governs it.