Biography
Eleanor Williams – University of Cardiff and Researcher, The National Archives (UK)
- International relations and politics tutor at Cardiff University.
- First Class Honours Degree in International Relations and Politics at Cardiff University.
- Masters Degree in International Relations.
- PhD from Queen’s University Belfast investigating the ethics of state intelligence during the conflicts in Northern Ireland and Colombia
- Researcher at The National Archives identifying documents about The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement
Interpretation
One of the most important factors which led to the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement was the inclusion of the people who were conducting the violence, which were the Republicans and the Loyalists. In the past, there had been other attempts at peace such as the Sunningdale Agreement of 1973. Whilst this agreement had many of the key ideas of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, one of the main things missing were the groups who were conducting the violence. This meant that Republicans and Loyalists, who were not part of the agreement, had no incentive to stop their violent campaigns. Subsequently, making peace in the 1970s was very difficult and resulted in thousands of more people being killed.
In the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, the Republican and Loyalist groups were part of the negotiations and agreement. This was difficult for all groups involved. People had to negotiate with groups who were responsible for killing their loved ones, friends, and people within their own community. However, it meant that some of their key grievances could be resolved, as well as having to compromise too with key issues such as decommissioning. By involving the Loyalists and Republicans, those who were responsible for the violence now had a stake in peace and led them to signing the Good Friday Agreement.
Task
Study each interpretation and summarise the key points made by the historian.
- What do they argue is the most important factor, individual or group?
- How did this contribute to the peace process and Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement?
- What challenges and obstacles had to be overcome?
- What evidence is given to support this interpretation?
- Does the historian’s biographical information help to explain their interpretation?
- From your own knowledge how convincing do you find this interpretation?
- What further evidence would you want to find in the documents to make the interpretation convincing?
- If you were to provide a one-word summary of this individual’s contribution, which of these would you choose, or can you think of a better word?
- Obstructive / Unhelpful / Marginal / Constructive / Helpful / Pragmatic / Visionary / Essential