Can you describe what you do?
I am a lecturer at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. I teach classes on government and public policy in the UK but my area of specialism is in ethnic conflict, so I teach a lot on issues of ethnic conflict, the management of peace processes, state crime, and conducting research in violently divided societies. My current research looks at the effect of political leadership, particularly, on peace processes. I am also an associate of INCORE (International Conflict Research) which is a joint initiative of the University of Ulster and the United Nations University in Tokyo. Through INCORE, I’m involved in the facilitation of its Annual Summer School and various research projects, such as ‘Journey’s Out’ which looks at the transitions made by community leaders as societies transform from violence to peace.
What do you most enjoy about your job?
I get great job satisfaction from teaching and I always learn so much from my students, especially at the INCORE International Summer School which has students from at least 20-30 nationalities each year! Most of these students have experience working ‘in the field’ in a range of conflict zones and the sharing of experiences between the students is always fascinating for me. Of course, most of them come to Northern Ireland to understand more about the conflict and the peace process here, so we spend a lot of time comparing and contrasting cases and looking at the issue of borrowing and lending ideas in different peace processes. My teaching efforts have resulted in some professional successes over the past two years. In 2006, I won the UK Political Studies Association’s Bernard Crick Award for Outstanding Teaching in the new entrant category and I was then awarded a University of Ulster Distinguished Teaching Fellowship Award in 2007. My research has resulted in the publication of my first book – Political Leadership and the Northern Ireland Peace Process, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2007 – which I’m really delighted about!
What is the greatest challenge you face in your role?
Apart from balancing my teaching and research commitments, I would say that my biggest challenge is in terms of engaging many of our younger ‘non-specialist’ students to appreciate the relevance and importance of world politics, and particularly to the significance of conflicts and peace processes. There remains huge apathy among young people in relation to politics generally; the falling turnout at elections in the UK is a ringing endorsement of this. I have to try to find a way to spark an interest in these issues, which will, hopefully, stay with the students long after they leave university! In addition, finding the time and space for international field research is, of course, an ongoing pressure. Before I had a family, it was relatively easy for me to hop on a plane and conduct some research in the West Bank or Gaza for example. Now there needs to be a lot more planning on my part before I can do that because of family commitments!
What is your major motivation/inspiration to do what you do?
I was born and raised in Northern Ireland. I remember while I was at university here, studying politics, a Professor told me that the world was a much bigger place than Northern Ireland and that if I wanted to be taken seriously in my opinions and thoughts on the Northern Ireland conflict that I would have to have points of comparison or reference from other conflicts around the world. So, I went to Oxford University and took an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies, so that I had a solid knowledge of another conflict region. I also spent time learning Arabic in Egypt and in the West Bank (although I will admit I was never very good at it – my strong Northern Ireland accent probably didn’t help).
How did you get to where you are today?
By staying in education for what feels like forever! I have an undergraduate degree in politics from Queens University, Belfast; an MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from Oxford University; and a PhD in History and International Affairs from the University of Ulster. I also spent a year as a Kennedy Scholar at the Kennedy School of Government and Public Policy in Harvard. That year was one of the best years ever. I learned so much while I was there, took classes in negotiation analysis and arabic and made some great friends! Then, I came back to Northern Ireland to look for work. I always knew that I would come back home despite my travels and ‘international’ education. I think I just had a lucky break when it came to finding my first job. After a month at home, I was interviewed for a job as the researcher on INCORE’s Conflict Data Service, which was an internet service on issues of peace and conflict. I did some teaching while I was in the post and things just developed from there in so far as I realised that I wanted to become an academic working in this field, so I began to develop my teaching and research profile within the university and well as externally. I began as a lecturer in the School of Policy Studies, where I currently work, five years ago and became a permanent member of staff two years ago.
What do you feel has been the greatest achievement or most rewarding experience of your career to date?
There are many things which I’m proud of in my career but the publication of my first book stands out for particular mention, as does winning the Political Studies Association’s Teaching Award last year!
What advice do you have for other young professionals wanting a similar career to yours?
The very best teachers and lecturers are those with plenty of experience from the field. It’s hard to be passionate about something that you have not experienced first hand. I would suggest that plenty of field trips and research abroad to places which have experienced violent conflict are a must – especially when you are younger and have less family commitments! There may be many other young professionals with similar educational qualifications, your ‘edge’ will always be in terms of how much exposure you have had to the very issues that you are researching and teaching. I remember talking at length about studying in the West Bank and visiting Gaza in my very first job interview. I’m convinced that it was my passion about this that got me the job more than the number of publications I did or didn’t have at the time!
Can you provide a recent example of someone/something that has made a substantial contribution to bringing about peace?
There have been so many people involved in the peace process in Northern Ireland that it’s difficult to highlight individuals. At the grassroots level, there have been a plethora of community and voluntary sector organisations working on issues of peace and reconciliation here for more than a generation now. At the mid-level, there have been multiple church representatives, business leaders and academics who have liaised with both the grassroots and the political elites within our society in an effort to break our previous impasses during the peace process. At the political level, have been politicians like Ian Paisley and Martin McGuiness, our current first and deputy first ministers in Northern Ireland – now affectionately known as the ‘Chuckle Brothers’ by the Northern Irish media – who have sat down together to manage the devolved government of Northern Ireland. Then looking beyond Northern Ireland, the European Union’s PEACE programme in Northern Ireland, gave a much needed cash injection into the community and voluntary sector work particularly, and this has also been very successful.
What role do you think the UN best plays in fostering sustainable peace?
Primarily, the UN view has considered peacebuilding as an activity which occurs after preventative diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping processes in countries that are already emerging from conflicts. This has raised some questions about the UN’s seemingly linear view of conflicts and peace processes. When, exactly, is the best time to build peace? After a cessation of physical violence? After a peace accord has been signed? At any point in the cycle of conflict?
The notion that there is any such identifiable and particular time to engage in peacebuilding initiatives is one that has been challenged by some analysts and practitioners, such as John Paul Lederach, who has argued that the narrow interpretation and operationalization of peacebuilding activities in a post-conflict environment fails to address the fundamental reality of how peacebuilding can and does also take place in many divided societies in the absence of any formal peace agreements, and/or in the event of their fledging peace agreements failing. Moreover, such authors have emphasized the actual necessity of various peacebuilding activities and functions that precede accords, in transforming conflicted societies. Lederach suggests that peacebuilding is more of a process of cultivating the land, preparing the ground, enriching the soil and sowing the seeds, rather than simply picking the ripe fruits and notes that this cultivation takes years, even generations, as opposed to the weeks or months negotiating the text of peace accords.
Do you have any suggested actions that our members could take to help support the work that you do?
Members can register with INCORE to be kept up to date with information on forthcoming summer schools, research publications, special lectures. They should send an email to incore@incore.ulster.ac.uk asking to be put onto the mailing list. Members can also check out the INCORE website on a regular basis at www.incore.ulster.ac.uk. Information on the Northern Ireland Conflict specifically, which is updated daily, can be found on CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) – cain.ulster.ac.uk