Reiterating national identities : the European Union conception of conflict resolution in Northern Ireland

The Haagerup Report commissioned by the European Parliament in 1984 was the first major initiative taken by the European Union on the situation of conflict in Northern Ireland. It embodied a conceptualisation of the conflict as between two national identities defined in relation to the Irish border. The EU’s self-ascribed role towards a settlement in Northern Ireland since that time has followed this vein by supporting the peaceful expression of British and Irish identities rather than reconstructing them or creating alternatives. This nation-based approach is encapsulated in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement between the governments of the UK and Ireland and political parties in Northern Ireland. Through detailed analysis of the Haagerup Report in the light of the peace process in Northern Ireland as a whole, this article assesses the implications of conceptualising Northern Ireland as a clash of national identities for resolution of the conflict and argues for a subsequent reconsideration of the EU’s role in conflict resolution.