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Doing the Business: Aspects of the Clinton Administration’s Economic Support for the Northern Ireland Peace Process, 1994-2000.

Authors :
Wilson, Andrew J.
Source :
Conference Papers -- International Studies Association. 2004 Annual Meeting, Montreal, Cana, p1-18. 18p.
Publication Year :
2004

Abstract

During his tenure in the White House, Bill Clinton devoted an unprecedented amount of time and energy to Northern Ireland. His personal interest, manifested in three presidential visits to the province, drove a sequence of major policy initiatives, which, at certain stages, played a pivotal role in advancing the peace process. His decision to grant a U.S. visa to Gerry Adams was an important element in the IRA=s decision to declare its first cease-fire in August 1994. Senator George Mitchell, Clinton=s principal representative in Northern Ireland, used all his political skills to win the confidence of most of the province=s political leaders and lay the foundation for the 1998 Belfast Agreement. In the hours before the Agreement was signed, Clinton worked the phones from the Oval Office, giving assurances of support and encouraging compromise from all the major participants. Later, the Clinton administration tried to achieve consensus over the most divisive issues of the Good Friday accord. In autumn 1999, when the whole deal seemed to be unraveling, George Mitchell=s review helped secure the convening of the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive. And right up to the final hours of his presidency, Clinton continued to work for a breakthrough. He kept in contact with the major political leaders and sent Jim Steinberg, his Deputy National Security Adviser, to participate in multi-party talks aimed at ending the impasse over decommissioning, demilitarization, and policing. While Clinton=s political interventions in Northern Ireland have received widespread media and analytical coverage, significantly less attention has been paid to his support for economic development. This has tended to obscure the key role which helping deliver a peace dividend played in Washington=s strategic considerations. My paper provides a narrative account of the Clinton administration’s economic initiatives, particularly the investment conferences and work of the International Fund for Ireland. It also examines the rationale and aims of these initiatives and assesses their impact on the Northern Ireland economy and the peace process. My work is based on interviews with US, Irish and British officials, government documents, material from political parties, and articles from newspapers and the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Conference Papers -- International Studies Association
Publication Type :
Conference
Accession number :
16051432