Past Imperfect Present Tense equality and the Northern

Past Imperfect Present Tense: equality and the Northern Irish conflict Eithne Mc. Laughlin The Queen’s University of Belfast

Introduction • Context The path to here • Can the case be viewed as a majority – minority relations? (inter-group) issue? Like ethnicity in other societies • What has been/should be the public administration [the public administration response to inequalities & inequities& intergroup conflict ]?

The path to Here • Equality & social inclusion in Ireland Project (EU funded project • Equality & social inclusion = equity • Equality of opportunity + basal equality of condition = fair equality of opportunity •

European equality policy developments • Moving to ‘single equality approach • Led by UK & NI (Irish conflict & UK devolution) • Generic nondiscrimination law • Single enforcement authority • Introduction of positive equality duties

The Social Politics Of Recognition • Importance of group identities and systemic discrimination (exclusion) • Requirement for policy response in terms of both individual and group characteristics, memberships & circumstances

Governmental single equality approach • Duties on public bodies to promote equality of opportunity and give due regard to good relations between persons of different genders, ages, marital status, with/without dependants, different beliefs, ethnicity, sexuality • Nongovernmental concerns • Divide & rule potential implicit hierarchies of deservingness, • The cindarella concern espec re disability

The Cindrella Concern • In NI context all lose out to dominance & • Hypersensitivity of equality & HR political/religious belief (in)equalities • Social political concerns may always lose out to which ever intergroup issue is dominant local electoral political issues?

Is disability different? • quantum or essence ? • A bit not enough to justify separatist position & lose the possibility of benefiting through levelling up

The policy response to disability: Needs or rights? • Are the interests of disabled people best met by policy systems based on a minority of one • OR • A systems/group/rights response

The HR Equality ‘tradition’ • Fair/same treatment & protection of individual from irrational prejudice of others to their group membership • Artifical divide of individuals’ personal & group characteristics • The universal equality question = how much/far should majorities/the dominant be expected to change their institutions, systems culture in order to accommodate/include minorities ‘The Other’ • Individualist & posthoc ignores ‘the past within the present’

Social Welfare/public Policy response • Biomedical & social professions’ responses to impairment & chronic illhealth • Individualistic moral paternalism • Locate dysfunction of disability within the individual’s impairment • Disability movement locate it within the responses of human systems & social practices to impairment (social environmental model of disability)

Needs or Rights • Need = high professional power via gatekeeping/discretion/labelling • Disability = a minority of One? • Underdevelopment of social economic & cultural rights international law & practice • Reality of multiple & contingent identities • difficult to draft generic multidomain rights • Individual rights do not solve intergroup • Allocation decisions

Three Distinctive Disability policy needs • Self esteem, personal & health care (organism survival) • Group esteem/value, culture, participation & representation (the politics of recognition) ‘Nothing about Us Without Us’ • Market rejection & failure • Quanum difference

Construction of a disability equality strategy/audit or review • Consult local DM on relative salience of each of the three needs within their specific context – priority framework for change, review & action • Debrief/ delearn cultural definitions of disability held by practictioners & decisionmakers • Move away from minority of One while holding to high quality

Equality Strategy cont. • Systemic response to disability embedded in/broadcast by institutional , structures & habitual practices

Forms of discrimination, violence & abuse • Direct intentional harm, disadvantage abuse of individual because of their presumed group membership • Indirect harm by product of application of apparently neutral, universal norms, rules provisions ignoring difference when you shouldn’t • [institutional] • Systemic = whole society structural & cultural

Toward a Theory of Systemic Discrimination & Equality/Equity • Whole society & whole person understanding of (in) equality, privilege, oppression, & resistance to change • Integrated theory of human development & progress/learning • Culturalist analysis of public policy & governance • Critical social theory of maintenance of relations of (in)equality & oppression

Integrated theory of human development/learning & progress • Meaningless & contingent nature of separations & mystiques of personal, social, economic, political development

Equality & conflict: the case of Northern Ireland • Eithne Mc. Laughlin The Queen’s University of Belfast

Specificities & Generalities • Northern Ireland an example of ‘Ethno-national conflict ? Quebec-Canada parallels; Arcadian overtones • Israel -Palestine? • North-south Cyprus? • Basque Spain? • Kashmir • Narcissism of minor difference? • Nationalism, ethnicity land & group attachments as forms of ancestor worship? / rigidities • Long low level conflict 3, 600 killed, 50, 000 injured pop. 2 million over 30 years 50/50 state and paramilitary perpetration of interpersonal violence

Extant ethno-national inequalities • Growing catholic/protestant female employment inequalities • Reduced catholic underrepresentation in employment espec. senior levels public & private sector

Equality, Conflict & Politics of Northern Ireland • Irish Nationalists ethno-national ‘civil’ conflict ‘The troubles’ area subcomponent of the long war for self-determination & freedom from British rule the plantation 16 th century • pre 1994 political goal was Irish unity regardless of consent of Unionists; post 1994 with consent of unionists; • To Scotch-Irish Unionists & Loyalists conflict began in 1969 when republican terrorists took up violence to achieve their political aim of destruction of Northern Ireland •

Ontological (in)security • Absence of consensus on nature, duration, causes & solutions to conflict & division • Ontological insecurity provides a commonality of repressive practices of state repression & apparent intractability of the problem

Nationalist Perspective on equality & conflict • Equality equity and justice between groups is as necessary as that between individuals if the conditions for sustainable democracy are to be met • Absence of these pre 1972

Unionist perspective on equality & conflict • What’s equality got to do with it? • Inequality & exclusion of nationalists pre 1972 was justifiable necessary response to ontological insecurity & threat of extinction • Security policy >individual and group rights • The ‘Disloyal Other’/serpent within the breast • Majoritarianism + one party rule natural outcomes of parliamentary democracy • No acceptance of validity of the universal equality question how far should majority change in order to include minorities [tolerate, assimilate? ]

Outcomes • By 1970 • Systemic discrimination had resulted in Nationalist minority (40%) socioeconomic disadvantage, limited political representation & civil rights • Limited equality, identity, & social political discourses & action • Hypersensitivity of equality, equity & HR issues

hypersensitivity • Inequality/inequity was/ was not the cause of politically motivated violence • ‘They were in the wrong’ for resorting to violence ‘They were in the wrong’ for denying our human rights; • [‘The Blame Game’] • Intergenerational responsibilities for the ‘sins of the fathers’? • Recognition of & redress for past injustice = preferential treatment threatens; good relations anti HR • ‘Get Over it’ the past is the past

The 1998 good Friday agreement • Negotiated settlement: 3 main components • Equality & h