Inclusion in Post-Conflict Legislatures : The Kosovo and Northern Ireland Assemblies

“An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland.” Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK “Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter's nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution. In particular, they underline the need for care in the design of institutional arrangements for deeply divided societies, so as to minimise potentially negative consequences that priority for accommodation and reconciliation may have for other issues and for the practice of inclusion.” Adrian Guelke, Queen’s University Belfast, UK “Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide.” Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland This book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to accommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. The book looks comparatively at the conflicts in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, then discusses approaches to conflict management, describing how political institutions were designed in those contexts. The themes of women and minority identities in those conflicts are then explored with a view to examining the extent of inclusion in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies. Preface 5 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 8 Abbreviations 9 List of Tables 11 Chapter 1 Introduction 13 Theoretical Framework 15 Analysis of Two Cases 18 Analytical Framework 19 Outline of the Book 20 Conclusion 21 References 22 Chapter 2 Northern Ireland and Kosovo in Comparative Perspective 26 Introduction 26 Comparisons 27 Comparing Northern Ireland and Kosovo 29 Settler/Native Explanations 31 Ethnic Conflict Management 32 Peace Processes 33 Geography 34 Kosovo 34 The Nature of Conflict in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 36 Transitions from Conflict in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 41 Power-Sharing Literatures 44 Conclusion 48 References 49 Chapter 3 Post-Conflict Institutional Design in Kosovo and Northern Ireland 58 Introduction 58 Institutional Design as a Conflict Management Mechanism 59 Power-Sharing 61 Feminist Institutionalism 66 Institutional Design in Kosovo and Northern Ireland 67 Comparing Legislatures 69 The Northern Ireland Assembly 71 The Kosovo Assembly 72 The Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies Compared 75 Constitutional Frameworks for Equality and Human Rights 77 Conclusion 81 References 82 Chapter 4 The Nature of Representation 88 Introduction 88 Representation Theory 89 How Much Representation to Make a Difference? 93 The Nature of Democracy 96 Deliberative Democracy 98 Critiques of Deliberative Democracy 100 Measuring Inclusion 102 Conclusion 106 References 107 Chapter 5 Gender and Politics in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 110 Introduction 110 Gender 111 Gender in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Conflicts 112 Gender and the Transition from Conflict in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 117 Gender in the Northern Ireland and Kosovo Assemblies 121 Conclusion 130 References 132 Chapter 6 Gender and Inclusion in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 138 Introduction 138 Inclusion 139 Representation of Women 139 Electoral Participation 143 Political Parties 145 NGO Membership 146 Access to Politicians 147 Inclusion in Decision-Making 149 Political Equality 157 Provisions for Gender Balance 157 Gender-Friendly Provisions 160 Deliberation Sites for Women 161 Support to Women’s Organisations 162 Publicity 164 Access to Policy Proposals 165 Party Positions on Gender 165 Access to Deliberation Processes 167 Reasonableness 172 Respect for Women’s Interests 172 Consideration of Women’s Interests 176 Articulation of Gender Issues 179 Conclusion 180 References 186 Chapter 7 Ethnicity in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 188 Introduction 188 Ethnicity 189 Ethnicity in Northern Ireland 193 Ethnicity in Kosovo 197 Minority Ethnicity and Political Participation in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 203 Conclusion 207 References 209 Chapter 8 Ethnicity and Inclusion in Northern Ireland and Kosovo 214 Introduction 214 Inclusion 215 Minority Ethnic Representation 215 Electoral Participation 220 Party and NGO Participation 221 Access to Deliberation Processes 225 Minority Ethnic Interests 228 Political Equality 232 Provisions for Minority Ethnic Representation 232 Support Provisions and Sites of Deliberation 236 Support to Minority Ethnic NGOs 237 Publicity 241 Access to Policy Proposals 241 Political Parties 244 Access to Deliberation 247 NGOs and Minority Ethnic Issues 251 Accountability 252 Reasonableness 255 Respect for Minority Ethnic Identities 255 Acknowledgement of Minority Ethnic Issues 259 Justification of Minority Ethnic Issues 260 Conclusion 262 References 268 Chapter 9 Conclusion 270 Intersectionality 272 Evaluating the Analytical Framework 275 Future Research 276 References 277 Bibliography 279 Index 312 "An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland." Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK "Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter's nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution." Adrian Guelke, Queen's University Belfast, UK "Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide." Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland This book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to accommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. Michael Potter is Visiting Research Fellow at Queen's University Belfast, UK "An excellent analysis of the complex dynamics of inclusion in post-conflict societies: theoretically grounded, empirically rich, and with a well-informed set of policy-relevant insights and recommendations with implications far beyond the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland." Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham, UK "Does the promotion of political accommodation between the contending parties in an ethno-nationalist conflict disadvantage other groups in society? This important question is at the heart of Michael Potter's nuanced study of post-settlement parliaments in Kosovo and Northern Ireland, in which he probes their record of representativeness, focusing on gender and ethnicity. His meticulous research, drawing on extensive fieldwork, shows that the domination of the parliaments by parties aligned to the conflict does indeed tend to marginalise other identities. His findings provide plenty of food for thought for practitioners in the field of conflict resolution." Adrian Guelke, Queens University Belfast, UK "Identity is a central organising principle of politics in the 21st century. In this impressive book Michael Potter shows that a focus on gender and minority ethnic identities in newly-formed post-conflict assemblies provides a unique litmus test of the robustness of democratic politics. He analyses the cases of Kosovo and Northern Ireland with rigour and considerable insight. This book makes a highly original and lasting contribution to theory and practice in post-conflict settings world-wide." Yvonne Galligan, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland This book examines inclusion in post-conflict legislatures, using Northern Ireland and Kosovo as case studies and gender and minority ethnicity as indicators. The analysis uses an adapted framework developed by Yvonne Galligan and Sara Clavero to measure inclusion across a range of factors associated with deliberative democratic principles. The logic is that political systems designed to acc ommodate communities in conflict will prioritise certain identities over others. The aim of the book is to investigate how identities not directly associated with a conflict fare in a political system designed to manage identities in conflict. Michael Potter is Visiting Research Fellow at Queens University Belfast, UK Front Matter ....Pages i-xiv Introduction (Michael Potter)....Pages 1-13 Northern Ireland and Kosovo in Comparative Perspective (Michael Potter)....Pages 15-46 Post-Conflict Institutional Design in Kosovo and Northern Ireland (Michael Potter)....Pages 47-76 The Nature of Representation (Michael Potter)....Pages 77-98 Gender and Politics in Northern Ireland and Kosovo (Michael Potter)....Pages 99-126 Gender and Inclusion in Northern Ireland and Kosovo (Michael Potter)....Pages 127-176 Ethnicity in Northern Ireland and Kosovo (Michael Potter)....Pages 177-202 Ethnicity and Inclusion in Northern Ireland and Kosovo (Michael Potter)....Pages 203-258 Conclusion (Michael Potter)....Pages 259-267 Back Matter ....Pages 269-310