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Open Access
Equality and equity: An emerging government policy in northern ireland
(Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 1994) Knox, Colin; Hughes, Joanne
A series of equality and equity measures has been introduced by the British Government to tackle the seemingly intractable problems of Northern Ireland. These measures represent a range of initiatives in the areas of social need, fair employment, education reform and community relations. The implementation of the community relations programme is considered in some detail as a case study in improving equality and equity in Northern Ireland. Qualitative data from community relations officers, charged with implementing the policy, are examined in the light of problems encountered with the programme. The influences on delivering community relations, as one component of this comprehensive thrust to attain equality and equity, are also considered using an explanatory model. The article concludes that changes in attitudes and behaviour between the two communities are occurring, albeit slowly, promoted by the measures described. © 1994, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.
Open Access
‘An Acceptable Level of Violence’ Community Response to Crime: Northern Ireland and South Africa
(The Journal of Conflict Studies, 2001) Knox, Colin; Monaghan, Rachel
This paper, drawing on focus group interview material, will therefore examine ways in which the communities in Northern Ireland and South Africa have responded to crime both during the conflict and thereafter. If the raison d’être for ‘political’ crime has been removed once a negotiated settlement is reached and the legitimacy of the State reaffirmed by agreement, can communities then subscribe to the formal system of criminal justice? Given the relatively recent, albeit fragile, arrival of a ‘peace’ settlement to Northern Ireland the paper considers what lessons, if any, can be learned from the South African post-conflict experience and its efforts to deal with community responses to crime.
Open Access
Establishing Research Legitimacy in the Contested Political Ground of Contemporary Northern Ireland
(Qualitative Research, 2001) Knox, Colin
Despite the plethora of literature on the macro politics of Northern Ireland, there is a dearth of material on grassroots activity, in particular the dynamic between communities and paramilitary groups which enforce ‘law and order’ in working class areas. Political progress in the form of the Belfast Agreement (1998) has overshadowed the ongoing level of violence at the micro level and the voice of victims remains unheard in the search to attain a greater goal – a long-term political and constitutional settlement. This paper examines the methodological difficulties in establishing research legitimacy in the contested political arenas of Northern Ireland. It considers issues of access, establishing the researchers’ bona fides, openness and transparency, language and personal security, and offers some insights into research in sensitive topics
Open Access
The ‘Deserving’ Victims of Political Violence: ‘Punishment’ Attacks in Northern Ireland
(Criminal Justice: The International Journal of Policy and Practice, 2001) Knox, Colin
The plight of the victims of political violence in Northern Ireland and the enduring suffering of their families has recently assumed much greater public prominence. Some see this new-found concern by government for victims as no more than a necessary part of the political and public relations management of the prisoners’ early release programme within which victims were mere pawns in the wider unstoppable agenda for a peace deal. Preconceived notions of perpetrators and victims have been politically contested in ways which suggest there are those who are ‘deserving’ or ‘undeserving’ of victimhood status. This paper considers one category of victim, those subject to paramilitary ‘punishment’ beatings and shootings, and argues that they have become expendable and legitimate targets for violence in Northern Ireland. They are expendable in the sense that any attempt to deal with the problem in a serious way would have widespread political ramifications for parties currently in devolved government. They are legitimate in that victims’ culpability derives from the communities within which they live and their ‘punishment’ is meted out by paramilitaries acting on the communities’ behalf.
Open Access
‘See no evil, hear no evil’: Insidious Paramilitary Violence in Northern Ireland
(British Journal of Criminology, 2002) Knox, Colin
Northern Ireland has been variously described as having an ‘imperfect peace’ in which ‘acceptable levels of violence’ persist. Despite the endorsement of the main political parties to the principles of ‘democracy and non-violence’ enshrined in the Belfast Agreement, an insidious and brutalising form of paramilitary violence continues within communities. The government has opted to ‘see no evil, hear no evil’ given what is at stake in the wider political process. According to this approach, one must accept certain violent excesses in the interest of moving forward politically. This, however, creates both conceptual and practical problems around the issue of violence in Northern Ireland. By conceding that paramilitaries ‘police’ the informal criminal justice system in their areas with political and, in most cases, legal impunity, the government, de facto, defines what is ‘an acceptable level of violence’. This paper considers the nature and extent of ongoing paramilitary violence, how it has become enmeshed in the negotiated settlement and the consequences of this politicisation of violence.
Open Access
‘Joined-Up’ Government: An integrated response to communal violence in Northern Ireland?
(Policy and Politics, 2003) Knox, Colin
The growing recognition that social problems are multi-faceted and need to be tackled in a way which cut-across traditional departmental boundaries has heralded the advent of joined-up government. Yet this new emphasis does not appear to have permeated the provision of public services in Northern Ireland in their response to the increasingly pervasive social problem of communal violence perpetrated by paramilitaries against those suspected of committing crime within their own communities. This paper examines the response of governmental and non-governmental agencies to this issue and questions whether victims of violence could benefit from an integrated approach. A deep suspicion and mistrust of the statutory authorities and the ‘undeserving’ character of victims currently militate against a joined-up approach.
Open Access
Democratic Renewal in Fragmental Communities: The Northern Ireland Case
(Local Governance, 2003) Knox, Colin
Northern Ireland is perhaps the locus extremis of fragmental communities in the United Kingdom. The ethno-national tensions and political violence that have ravaged the Province for over 30 years continue unabated at a number of interface areas where single identity Catholic and Protestant communities live cheek by jowl. Intimidation, threats, rioting and naked sectarianism in the form of pickets mounted to protest against Catholic primary school children walking through ‘a Protestant estate’ (the so called 'Holy Cross' dispute) testify to increasing territorialism and community segregation. All of this continues despite the historic constitutional settlement in the form of the Belfast Agreement in which signatories affirmed their ‘total and absolute commitment to exclusively democratic and peaceful means of resolving differences on political issues, and opposition to any use or threat of force by others for any political purpose’ (Belfast Agreement, 1998: 1). This demonstrates, however, that the long-term ‘cohesive, inclusive and just society’ promised in the constitutional agreement cannot be delivered solely through a consensus amongst the political elite at Stormont, but must be grounded in work undertaken within communities who must endorse and see the tangible benefits of the peace dividend. Residents of North Belfast, for example, would need much convincing that the Belfast Agreement has delivered peaceful community co-existence . This paper examines local governance and the role of the active community in the democratic renewal of Northern Ireland. It considers this in 3 phases. The first phase (1921–1972) might be described as a period of disrepute, during which local government was discredited as an elected forum and used to consolidate Unionist hegemony. The second phase could be styled the emasculation of local government and the emergence of a strong voluntary and community sector to fill the vacuum left by the democratic deficit of Direct Rule from Westminster (1972-1999). The final and current phase might be characterised as a period of democratic renewal (1999 onwards) or what Carmichael (1999) has described as ‘devolution-plus’. This period involves a twin track approach. One element includes a review of public administration arrangements in Northern Ireland incorporating local government, quangos and agencies (but importantly not the 11 government departments). The second element has three aims: firstly, to develop more formal arrangements with the voluntary and community sector in the decision making processes of government departments; secondly, the institutionalisation of social partnership through the Civic Forum, established under the Belfast Agreement; and finally, the emergence of local partnership arrangements in a number of important functional areas (health, community safety and ‘well-being’). The dilemma facing Members of the Legislative Assembly, who have been bereft of electoral power for nearly 30 years, is how to balance the need to involve an active community alongside rebuilding a local democratic base. This poses particular questions about the future role of local government in Northern Ireland under a reformed system of public administration. The fact that these three temporal phases correspond to key political milestones in the political chronology of Northern Ireland should not be surprising. The focus of this paper will necessarily be on the final phase although a short summary of the first two stages should provide a context for discussions which follow
Open Access
Fear of Reprisal – Researching Intra-Communal Violence in Northern Ireland and South Africa
(2003) Knox, Colin; Monaghan, Rachel
Measuring the impact of violence is fraught with problems, not least because of the definitional problems around what constitutes violence and how this might be quantified. If one considers violence perpetrated by paramilitaries in Northern Ireland or vigilante groups in South Africa then the task becomes even more difficult. This chapter will examine methodological problems associated with gaining access to, and undertaking research in, the dangerous arena of paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland and vigilante violence in South Africa. It will consider the difficulties in obtaining reliable information on the levels of violence particularly from official police sources, and the way in which this type of crime is classified. Other statistical sources such as pressure group data will be examined and problems highlighted with the use of documentation gleaned from tendentious organisations. Data about the impact of violence from primary research are also fraught with problems. Victims, for example, can be reluctant interviewees for fear of paramilitary/vigilante reprisal. A ‘victim’ of paramilitary/vigilante ‘punishment’ may be an erstwhile perpetrator of violence. Should one treat internecine turf wars between paramilitaries in Northern Ireland in a similar way to violence meted out in pursuit of their political goals? These and other issues make the measurement of the impact of violence difficult methodological questions. This chapter will therefore highlight these problems and examine how we managed them within this study of intra-communal violence.
Open Access
Violence in a Changing Political Context: Northern Ireland and South Africa
(2003) Knox, Colin; Monaghan, Rachel
Northern Ireland and South Africa are moving from conflict to post-conflict societies. Both countries have new political dispensations and seek to eschew the legacy of bitter and bloody violence. The history of the political struggles has, however, embedded a culture tolerant of violence characterised by descriptions such as ‘an acceptable level of violence’ or ‘an imperfect peace’. Somehow the threshold of violence is different/higher in these countries because of their transitional status. This chapter will therefore explore how the meaning of violence is inextricably linked to the political context in Northern Ireland and South Africa. Specifically it will examine the continuing role of violence meted out by paramilitary/vigilante groups to alleged wrongdoers within the communities in which they operate, the stranglehold these groups exert and how, if at all, this is changing. The role played by the police and the criminal justice systems will also be discussed within the new era of established political systems that have replaced ‘white rule’ and ‘direct rule’ in South Africa and Northern Ireland respectively.
Open Access
Special Issue on Northern Ireland “Devolution, Governance and the Peace Process”
(Terrorism and Political Violence, 2004) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin
Devolution and the associated mechanisms of governance - a power-sharing Executive, elected Assembly, cross-border bodies, a reformed system of public administration and civic engagement, are part of the wider mosaic of peace building. Their implementation is an attempt to institutionalise stability and copper-fasten a political settlement. This paper outlines the changing governmental arrangements obtaining within Northern Ireland, as it has shifted tentatively away from Direct Rule. It maps the wider public sector in Northern Ireland, including civil administration (chiefly the Northern Ireland Civil Service), an extended mosaic of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and other public agencies that, together with local government, form a complex multi-layered sub-regional governance. Our contention is that the manner in which the administration of Northern Ireland has been conducted yields fruitful insights into issues of territorial management in other areas afflicted by intractable constitutional wrangles and attendant violence. In short, an agreed system of governance is integral to the transition from conflict to peace (or at least stability) and, in the case of Northern Ireland, was central to the substance of the Belfast Agreement, characterised by a power-sharing Executive
Open Access
Improving Public Services: Public Administration Reform in Northern Ireland
(Journal of Social Policy, 2004) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
The devolved government in Northern Ireland set about the task of putting in place ‘a modern and effective system of public administration that can deliver high quality public services to our citizens’. It did so through a review of public administration launched in June 2002. This paper offers a formative evaluation of the quest to improve the quality of public services, now being taken forward by a British minister since the suspension of devolution. It argues that the review is being driven by institutional concerns and is devoid of a public service modernising agenda. Additionally, it contends that how people in Northern Ireland perceive public services is contingent on their views on its constitutional status (Direct Rule or devolved government) which, in turn, is linked to their support for the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, rather than the performance of public bodies. As a consequence, the reforms may result in little more than institutional tinkering with doubtful impact on the quality of public services
Open Access
Devolution - the Northern Ireland Way: An Exercise in 'Creative Ambiguity'
(Environment and Planning Series C, 2005) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
Devolution in Northern Ireland followed directly from the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement which provided, inter alia, for a democratically elected Assembly ‘inclusive in its membership, capable of exercising executive and legislative authority, and subject to safeguards to protect the rights and interests of all sides of the community’. More than six years on, the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly are in suspension for the fourth time (the latest since October 2002). The conjunction of devolution and the implementation of the Agreement mean that the former is wholly dependent on the vagaries of the latter and, as a consequence, has devalued the potential of devolution to improve the governance of Northern Ireland.
Open Access
The Reform of Public Administration in Northern Ireland: From Principles to Practice
(Political Studies, 2005) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin
The system of public administration in Northern Ireland has, perhaps inevitably, been of secondary concern amid over 30 years of inter-communal sectarian strife. Faced with combating terrorism, successive UK governments wouldn’t consider reform of the Province’s local public administration, pending a resolution of the wider constitutional imbroglio. Consequently, much of the system atrophied, becoming progressively more cumbersome and ill-equipped to deal with the requirements of modern government. Moreover, to help minimize charges of sectarian discrimination, quangos provided many public services, compounding the ‘democratic deficit’ of Direct Rule. In 1998, the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, offered a breakthrough in the search for a durable settlement that could command cross community support. As part of subsequent devolved Executive’s ‘Programme for Government’, a Review of Public Administration (RPA) was launched to consider sub-regional governance arrangements with a view to enhancing democratic accountability and improving efficiency through streamlining the current arrangements. To that end, the Review has been committed to adhering to clear principles on which any credible reform should be based. While devolution itself has proved fitful, the work of the RPA has continued apace. Although embarking on reforms within functioning devolution is ministers’ preferred option, there is a determination to continue the reform process irrespective of the present impasse. This paper outlines the issues, values and concepts that might shape the principles for conducting a Review before considering the particular context within Northern Ireland and the impediments to overhauling the present arrangements and speculating on the likely outcome (ENDS). The structure and operation of Northern Ireland’s wider system of public administration were accorded a lowly priority by successive British Governments throughout ‘the Troubles’. With murder and mayhem threatening to engulf them, Northern Ireland Office ministers were preoccupied with managing the most intractable and wearisome corner of the UK’s territorial estate. As the temporary expedient of Direct Rule matured into ‘permanent impermanence’, any meaningful overhaul was effectively embargoed. Consequently, while recognition of the need for reform enjoyed rare universal consent of the key protagonists, ministers felt little inclination to immerse themselves in thankless upheaval, the inevitable outcome of which would be controversial, divisive and problematic. However, the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) lifted this extended moratorium and, in their ‘Programme for Government’, Northern Ireland’s new political masters launched a ‘Review of Public Administration’ in 2002. Moreover, despite the subsequently fitful experience of devolution, their resolve has survived the re-imposition of Direct Rule. Thus, in the medium term, there is every prospect of substantial reform notably sub-regional governance in Northern Ireland. This paper seeks to accomplish two key objectives. First, it outlines the key issues, values and concepts that inform the development of principles for reappraising the continuing viability of any system of public administration. Second, it considers the particular context obtaining within Northern Ireland and the associated impediments to overhauling the present arrangements, speculating on the revised configuration likely to emerge
Open Access
Community planning in Northern Ireland: Participative Democracy in Practice?
(2005-01) Knox, Colin
Local Government in Northern Ireland entered a new phase of its development in April 2015 when 26 pre-existing councils were reduced to 11 local authorities with a range of additional functions. This structural change is significant for a number of reasons. First, the new councils represent the culmination of a process of reform which commenced in 2002 under the Review of Public Administration whose remit incorporated wider changes to health, education and functions delivered through non-departmental public bodies. Second, the original intention of the Review was to create ‘more powerful councils with responsibilities for an increased range of functions’ (Pearson, 2004:1). Given the history of local government in Northern Ireland, such a move signalled a renewed confidence in councils to deliver services in an impartial way (Tomlinson, 1980). Third, in recognition of the complexity of devolved governance arrangements at Stormont, with 12 government departments created primarily to meet the requirements of power-sharing, local councils offer the prospect of integrated public services provision which are more responsive to users. This paper provides a brief overview of local government (1972-2015) up until the most recent structural changes– a retrospective narrative. It also considers the potential for the 11 larger councils to improve the quality of life of its citizens through new statutory powers of community planning – a prospective analysis. The paper concludes with a case study example of one new council (Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council) to illustrate how community planning can, in practical terms, be used to hold central government departments to account for service provision at the local level.
Open Access
Bureau Shuffling? The Review of Public Administration in Northern Ireland
(Public Administration, 2006) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
The Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement 1998 resulted in the return of devolved government to Northern Ireland and, with it, a decision by the Executive and Assembly to conduct a radical review of public administration. As the review reaches its final stages this paper considers the likely outcomes. It argues that the parameters of the review will limit its impact and describes the reform proposals as structural changes or administrative rationalisation, devoid of a wider modernising approach to improving public services. The on/off nature of devolution could result in ‘one of the major tasks for devolved government’ (according to the Northern Ireland Executive) being implemented by Direct Rule ministers
Open Access
Devolution and Constitutional Change in Northern Ireland
(Manchester University Press, 2007) Carmichael, Paul; Knox, Colin; Osborne, Bob
This edited volume brings together researchers from the ESRC Devolution and Constitutional Change programme, whose projects examined Northern Ireland either exclusively or as part of a comparative project, and other established experts in the field. The book aims to assess the Northern Ireland experience from four key perspectives. First, it considers the inextricable link between devolution and constitutional developments, to which Bogdanor refers. Second, it examines how the main political parties responded to devolution and the major challenges faced by society in moving beyond conflict (such as political symbolism, the role of women, equality and human rights issues). Third, it attempts to assess some of the outworkings of devolved government in its short-lived form or those seeded in devolution and carried on by direct rule ministers. Finally, Northern Ireland devolved government and associated institutions are located within the wider relationships with Westminster, the Republic of Ireland and Europe. The specific contributions of authors are considered in more detail.
Open Access
Building Public Service-Oriented Government in China
(The International Journal of Public Sector Management, 2007) Knox, Colin; Qun, Zhang
Purpose: Legislative hearings are a relatively new way of encouraging citizen participation in administrative law making within China. The first such hearing in Liaoning Province (Dalian City) was held in April 2005. This paper examines the detail of the hearing process and attempts to assess its effectiveness as a mechanism for engagement between citizen and the state. Methodology: The authors consider both the practicalities of running a public hearing and its influence on the legal regulations under scrutiny. More generally, and within the limits of one case study, we consider whether hearings have the potential to shift the balance of power away from the state and its officials towards a more inclusive form of decision making. Research implications: Finally, the paper examines whether citizen participation, as a means of public service-oriented government in China, has been influenced by the wider global reform process of New Public Management (NPM) and modernisation, synonymous with developed countries
Open Access
Mayoralty in Northern Ireland: Symbolism or Substance?
(Aldershot: Ashgate Publishers, 2007) Knox, Colin; Garrard, John
This chapter attempts three tasks. First, it explores the context of the debate about the constitutional position and role of the chair/mayor in Northern Ireland local government since 1898, while emphasising the most recent period from 1972 onwards. Second, it considers how, despite local government’s functional unimportance, the election of one high-profile republican Mayor (Alex Maskey) to Belfast City Council, a bastion of unionist power and supremacy, offered wider potential for power-sharing arrangements. Finally, in the light of an ongoing major review of local government, it discusses what the future offers for mayors/chairs in Northern Ireland.
Open Access
The Review of Public Administration
(Manchester University Press, 2007) Knox, Colin; Carmichael, Paul
As the outcomes of the Review of Public Administration emerge, this chapter attempts three things. First, we consider the detail of the review process – its inception, aims and consultation processes. Second, we describe the existing system of public administration and examine the responses of the main sectors, local government, non-departmental public bodies, and government agencies to proposals for change. Third, we set out the outcomes of the review and the likely consequences for public service delivery in Northern Ireland
Open Access
‘ADMINISTERING THE SUMMIT’: THE CASE OF KAZAKHSTAN
(2008) Kassymova, Dinazat; Knox, Colin
Kazakhstan was formed as an autonomous Republic within the Russian Federation in August 1920 and became a Republic of the Soviet Union in 1936. In 1989 Nursultan Nazarbayev became head of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. The Supreme Soviet elected Nazarbayev first Kazakh president in 1990 and declared state sovereignty. In December 1991 Nazarbayev won uncontested presidential elections (98% of the vote) and Kazakhstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1995 the President’s term of office was extended until 2000 at a nation-wide referendum and in January 1999, in an early election, he was returned for a seven year term by almost 80% of voters. The most recent Presidential elections were held in December 2005 when Nazarbayev won a third term with more than 90% of the vote. The people of Kazakhstan have to live with the aftermath of Soviet-era nuclear testing and toxic waste dumping. President Nazarbayev got rid of the nuclear weapons on Kazakh territory and sees his greatest achievement as building an independent country without violence or a split along ethnic or religious lines. He has also led a period of significant financial and economic reforms (Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 2007). Following independence, Kazakhstan engaged in a programme of economic reforms where prices were liberalized, trade distortions reduced, and small/medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) privatised. The treasury and budget processes were dramatically improved. More recently, a framework for public resource management was introduced which lays the foundation for a modern civil service. The creation of a National Fund (in 2000) to save part of the revenues from oil and other extractive industries has been used to increase social spending and share the benefits of economic growth. Since 2000 the economy has shown significant signs of improvement with GDP annual growth in 2006 at 10.6% (World Bank, 2006). The government is attempting to promote economic diversification and growth in the non-oil sector. Diversification into labour-intensive sectors is necessary for growth in employment and incomes, as well as to reduce the economy’s vulnerability to swings in the price of oil. It is against this political and economic background that we consider politico-administrative patterns in Kazakhstan by examining the actors, structures and processes supporting the administration of the Office of President of Kazakhstan.