Graham Spencer
Biographic Data
| ID | 3688034 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Graham Spencer |
| GIVEN NAMES | Graham |
| FAMILY NAME | Spencer |
| SIGNATURE | SPENCER G |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Portsmouth |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 34 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 3 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1997 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Introduction to English narratives and identities
Troubles of the past: History, identity and collective memory in Northern Ireland
This book is an edited collection that examines various aspects of the role and nature of collective memory and remembrance of the conflict in Northern Ireland. It sets out to examine diverse constructions, articulations and re-articulations of (often competing) collective memories and their relevance for the process of identity formation, political struggles, ‘culture wars’, the formation of politics and debates on dealing with the past in North…
Protestant and Irish: The Minority's Search for a Place in Independent Ireland. Edited by Ian d'Alton and Ida Milne
This selection of eighteen essays that examine how Protestants in Southern Ireland expressed their identity after Irish independence offers a welcome and more nuanced consideration of the Protestant experience than one has come to expect. Covering areas such as education, sport, marriage, humor, business, class, and religion, and categorizing those areas in relation to belonging, engagement, and otherness, the essays unearth a varied and engaged …
Leading a Peace Process: An interview with Bertie Ahern
This article is based on an extended interview with Bertie Ahern, former taoiseach of Ireland 1997–2008, and is concerned with how he viewed his leadership role in the Northern Ireland peace process and what influences he tried to bring to bear through that leadership. The interview highlights the importance of pragmatism and consensus-building for Ahern but also emphasises the significance of talk and the informal as key considerations. Referrin…
From Armed Struggle to Political Struggle: Republican tradition and transformation in Northern Ireland
This is the first book to comprehensively examine the shifts that have informed republican tradition and transformation from the beginning of the “Troubles“ in Northern Ireland until the final stages of the peace process. Using a combination of empirical research and literature, the book addresses Northern Irish republican identity through the influences of imagination, history and Catholicism before it charts the processes of decision-making and…
The British and Peace in Northern Ireland: The Process and Practice of Reaching Agreement
How did the British Government and Civil Service shape the Northern Ireland peace process? What kind of tensions and debates were being played out between the two governments and the various parties in Northern Ireland? Addressing texts, negotiations, dialogues, space, leverage, strategy, ambiguity, interpersonal relations and convergence, this is the first volume to examine how senior British officials and civil servants worked to bring about po…
Protestant Identity and Peace in Northern Ireland
Based on interview material with a wide range of Protestant clergy in Northern Ireland, this book examines how Protestant identity impacts on the possibility of peace and stability and argues for grea
Ulster Loyalism after the Good Friday Agreement: History, Identity and Change
A timely assessment of loyalist history, identity and community in Northern Ireland today which provides a comprehensive picture of how loyalism has reacted to changes since the Good Friday Agreement.
Managing a Peace Process: An Interview with Jonathan Powell
This is an extended interview with Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff for the Blair government from 1997 to 2007, about the Northern Ireland peace process and the negotiations and talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and a power‐sharing Assembly led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin in 2007. The interview seeks to reveal what Powell and the British considered as key motivations and intentions in the peace pr…
Free Presbyterianism and Political Change in Northern Ireland
This article is an empirical study about the Free Presbyterian Church and its relationship to political change in Northern Ireland. Drawing from interviews conducted with Free Presbyterian clergy between September 2007 and April 2008, it seeks to explain why the Church sought to distance itself from Reverend Dr Ian Paisley's decision to accept power‐sharing with Nationalist and Republican opponents in 2007 and why Paisley stepped down as Church m…
Towards the Good Friday Agreement
In his account of the how the Good Friday Agreement was achieved, the talks chairman Senator George Mitchell explained how the first year of multi-party talks was dominated by Unionist opposition to rules and procedure, with weeks given to debates about the potential meanings of rules, and with the DUP and UK Unionist Party (UKUP) walking out (and back in) the talks in protest at attempts to develop a ‘sufficient consensus’ around voting methods …
The Identity of Loyalism
Debates concerned with mapping the characteristics of Loyalist identity highlight two interrelated, but distinct, groupings which fall under the category of loyalism. Those groupings are what Bruce calls ‘gunmen and Evangelicals’ (1994) and the presence of each reflects territorial and theological interests which can be most readily witnessed in the Loyalist motto ‘For God and Ulster’. The slogan, which is rooted in the convictions of the UVF in …
The Media
The role of the media in the Northern Ireland peace process has played a central role in the presentation and interpretation of political change. Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam described how ‘the media were always an important dimension to consider’ and ‘at times seemed like another participant at the talks table’ (2002: 80), while talks Chairman Senator George Mitchell saw the media as important both for parties trying to advance th…
The Unionist Imagination
The Unionist experience in Northern Ireland appears to be shaped by both consistent and contradictory outlooks. Consistency is maintained by the desire to remain committed to the Union with Britain, while competing desires and interests influence contradictory reactions to political life and change (Cochrane 1997: 35). What appears noticeable in much of the literature which examines the nature of unionism is the complex interrelationship between …
Conclusion
The testimony used in this book reveals a range of points in relation to how loyalism has adapted to the demands of the peace process. The influences of nationalism and religion still impact on the Unionist imagination, and the social and political world continues to be witnessed through the literal interpretations of an individualistically determined worldview. A tendency for Loyalists to pursue violence throughout the peace process, but more es…
Afterword
In July 2007, as a result of ongoing tensions between south east Antrim and the mainstream UDA, a police officer was shot while attending to a dispute in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. This incident was followed on 1 August by riots on a housing estate in Bangor, County Down, when petrol bombs were thrown at police and live rounds were fired. Such action was seen as serious enough for the Minister for Social Development of the new Assembly, SDLP m…
Violence and Politics
Examination of the role and structure of Loyalist violence has been particularly concerned with the problem of how violence functions as ‘pro-state’ terror. That is, terror which aspires to defend and preserve the authority and legitimacy of the state. Existing in competition with state security agencies, pro-state terrorism tends to arise when those agencies are seen as unable to resist the forces of anti-state terrorism (in this case militant r…
The Peace Process Part 1: Early Stages and Key Players
A number of studies which chart the emergence and development of the peace process in its formative years tend to concentrate in particular on relations between Sinn Fein (the political face of militant republicanism) and the Irish, American and British governments (Coogan 1995; O’Brien 1995; Mallie and McKittrick 1996; Mallie and McKittrick 2002). The starting point for the process has been attributed to a series of dialogues conducted between S…
The Peace Process Part 2: Talks
In the months after the Joint Declaration, Republicans and Unionists scrutinised the detail and potential ramifications of the document for signs of concession and movement. Republicans, in particular, sought clarification of the possible meanings and interpretations that the document could provide, and became embroiled with the British government about its significations and connotations. Although at first the British stressed that there would b…
Recent Developments and the Way Ahead
Widespread Unionist disillusionment and falling confidence, which was made manifest in the local election results of 2003 (Tonge 2006b: 73), did little to assist efforts by the political voices within loyalism to find a constructive way of moving ahead in the peace process. For Unionists, the most prominent reaction to the political process at this time, as personified by the DUP, lay in shifts between outright rejection of the Agreement and dema…
After the Good Friday Agreement
Once the Agreement had been signed by the respective parties, a referendum was conducted to reveal the strength of public support for the settlement. For Sinn Fein, legitimising the referendum meant meeting with the Republican grassroots at a specially convened ardfheis in Dublin to change the party’s constitution, in order to allow part representatives to take seats in a Northern Ireland Assembly (overwhelmingly endorsed) (Bew and Gillespie 1999…
Containing Dialogue: The British Government and Early Talks in the Northern Ireland Peace Process
This article examines the role of the British government in talks with republicans and loyalists during the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process. Since the priority of both the British and Irish governments was to draw paramilitary groups away from violence towards the political process, it was necessary to engage representatives of those groups in dialogue and demonstrate that political goals were more likely to be achieved through…
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland examines the changes and developments within parliamentary loyalism throughout the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews with key players, i
The decline of Ulster Unionism: The Problem of Identity, Image and Change
Sinn Fein and the Media in Northern Ireland: The New Terrain of Policy Articulation
This article is an empirical study about Sinn Fein and how the party perceives the role of the news media in relation to its political goals and aspirations within the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews carried out with a number of Sinn Fein representatives, it brings to light the organisational priorities of the party when dealing with the news media and provides insights into the various considerations which come into play …
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland examines the changes and developments within parliamentary loyalism throughout the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews with key players, i
The Impact of Television News on the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations
This article is an analysis of the influences and pressures that television news has brought to bear on the Northern Ireland peace process. Discussed from the viewpoints and perspectives of senior journalists who have covered the peace process, it describes a complex range of uses by the participants and highlights problems which reporting has brought to bear on communications and dialogue about peace. Using studies about the relationship between…
Sinn Fein and the Media in Northern Ireland: The New Terrain of Policy Articulation
This article is an empirical study about Sinn Fein and how the party perceives the role of the news media in relation to its political goals and aspirations within the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews carried out with a number of Sinn Fein representatives, it brings to light the organisational priorities of the party when dealing with the news media and provides insights into the various considerations which come into play …
Constructing loyalism: Politics, communications and peace in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland peace process has provided the space for the emergence of an articulate loyalist politics which has had implications for the traditionally obstructive and negative representations of unionist discourse. During talk and negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, leaders of the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party (both political wings of loyalist paramilitary groupings) voiced positions …
Managing a Peace Process: An Interview with Jonathan Powell
This is an extended interview with Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff for the Blair government from 1997 to 2007, about the Northern Ireland peace process and the negotiations and talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and a power‐sharing Assembly led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin in 2007. The interview seeks to reveal what Powell and the British considered as key motivations and intentions in the peace pr…
The decline of Ulster Unionism: The Problem of Identity, Image and Change
Pushing for Peace: The Irish Government, Television News and the Northern Ireland Peace Process
Although much has been written about the role of the news media within conflict situations, far less is known about the part played by reporting during a period of developing peace. This article approaches this question by looking at how the Irish government dealt with television news during the initial phases of the Northern Ireland peace process. In drawing from interviews carried out with key government representatives, it presents a picture o…
Talking peace: Political communications through the television news media and the Northern Ireland peace process
1997). Talking peace: Political communications through the television news media and the Northern Ireland peace process. Contemporary Politics: Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 267-276
Negotiating Peace: Politics, Television News and the Northern Ireland Peace Process
Keeping the Peace? Politics, Television News and the Northern Ireland Peace Process
This article looks at the communicative strategies adopted by the main political parties when dealing with British television news coverage of the Northern Ireland peace process. It examines the disadvantageous as well as advantageous impact of reporting on peace politics and highlights how political groups applied different communicative strategies when engaging with news. Drawing on original interview material gathered from politicians and jour…
Pushing for Peace: The Irish Government, Television News and the Northern Ireland Peace Process
Although much has been written about the role of the news media within conflict situations, far less is known about the part played by reporting during a period of developing peace. This article approaches this question by looking at how the Irish government dealt with television news during the initial phases of the Northern Ireland peace process. In drawing from interviews carried out with key government representatives, it presents a picture o…
Reporting Inclusivity: The Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, the News Media and the North Ireland Peace Process
This article is an investigation into how the news media dealt with the politics and ideas of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition in the build-up to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Drawing on interview material carried out with representatives of the NIWC who were actively involved within the peace process at that time, it assesses the responsiveness of news towards positions taken by the NIWC and considers the implications of reporting in …
The Impact of Television News on the Northern Ireland Peace Negotiations
This article is an analysis of the influences and pressures that television news has brought to bear on the Northern Ireland peace process. Discussed from the viewpoints and perspectives of senior journalists who have covered the peace process, it describes a complex range of uses by the participants and highlights problems which reporting has brought to bear on communications and dialogue about peace. Using studies about the relationship between…
Constructing loyalism: Politics, communications and peace in Northern Ireland
The Northern Ireland peace process has provided the space for the emergence of an articulate loyalist politics which has had implications for the traditionally obstructive and negative representations of unionist discourse. During talk and negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, leaders of the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party (both political wings of loyalist paramilitary groupings) voiced positions …
The Media and Peace: From Vietnam to the 'War on Terror'
Much is known about the media's role in conflict, but far less is known about the media's role in peace. Graham Spencer's study addresses this deficiency by providing a comparative analysis of reporti
The decline of Ulster Unionism: The Problem of Identity, Image and Change
Sinn Fein and the Media in Northern Ireland: The New Terrain of Policy Articulation
This article is an empirical study about Sinn Fein and how the party perceives the role of the news media in relation to its political goals and aspirations within the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews carried out with a number of Sinn Fein representatives, it brings to light the organisational priorities of the party when dealing with the news media and provides insights into the various considerations which come into play …
Towards the Good Friday Agreement
In his account of the how the Good Friday Agreement was achieved, the talks chairman Senator George Mitchell explained how the first year of multi-party talks was dominated by Unionist opposition to rules and procedure, with weeks given to debates about the potential meanings of rules, and with the DUP and UK Unionist Party (UKUP) walking out (and back in) the talks in protest at attempts to develop a ‘sufficient consensus’ around voting methods …
The Identity of Loyalism
Debates concerned with mapping the characteristics of Loyalist identity highlight two interrelated, but distinct, groupings which fall under the category of loyalism. Those groupings are what Bruce calls ‘gunmen and Evangelicals’ (1994) and the presence of each reflects territorial and theological interests which can be most readily witnessed in the Loyalist motto ‘For God and Ulster’. The slogan, which is rooted in the convictions of the UVF in …
The Media
The role of the media in the Northern Ireland peace process has played a central role in the presentation and interpretation of political change. Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam described how ‘the media were always an important dimension to consider’ and ‘at times seemed like another participant at the talks table’ (2002: 80), while talks Chairman Senator George Mitchell saw the media as important both for parties trying to advance th…
The Unionist Imagination
The Unionist experience in Northern Ireland appears to be shaped by both consistent and contradictory outlooks. Consistency is maintained by the desire to remain committed to the Union with Britain, while competing desires and interests influence contradictory reactions to political life and change (Cochrane 1997: 35). What appears noticeable in much of the literature which examines the nature of unionism is the complex interrelationship between …
Conclusion
The testimony used in this book reveals a range of points in relation to how loyalism has adapted to the demands of the peace process. The influences of nationalism and religion still impact on the Unionist imagination, and the social and political world continues to be witnessed through the literal interpretations of an individualistically determined worldview. A tendency for Loyalists to pursue violence throughout the peace process, but more es…
Afterword
In July 2007, as a result of ongoing tensions between south east Antrim and the mainstream UDA, a police officer was shot while attending to a dispute in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. This incident was followed on 1 August by riots on a housing estate in Bangor, County Down, when petrol bombs were thrown at police and live rounds were fired. Such action was seen as serious enough for the Minister for Social Development of the new Assembly, SDLP m…
Violence and Politics
Examination of the role and structure of Loyalist violence has been particularly concerned with the problem of how violence functions as ‘pro-state’ terror. That is, terror which aspires to defend and preserve the authority and legitimacy of the state. Existing in competition with state security agencies, pro-state terrorism tends to arise when those agencies are seen as unable to resist the forces of anti-state terrorism (in this case militant r…
The Peace Process Part 1: Early Stages and Key Players
A number of studies which chart the emergence and development of the peace process in its formative years tend to concentrate in particular on relations between Sinn Fein (the political face of militant republicanism) and the Irish, American and British governments (Coogan 1995; O’Brien 1995; Mallie and McKittrick 1996; Mallie and McKittrick 2002). The starting point for the process has been attributed to a series of dialogues conducted between S…
The Peace Process Part 2: Talks
In the months after the Joint Declaration, Republicans and Unionists scrutinised the detail and potential ramifications of the document for signs of concession and movement. Republicans, in particular, sought clarification of the possible meanings and interpretations that the document could provide, and became embroiled with the British government about its significations and connotations. Although at first the British stressed that there would b…
Recent Developments and the Way Ahead
Widespread Unionist disillusionment and falling confidence, which was made manifest in the local election results of 2003 (Tonge 2006b: 73), did little to assist efforts by the political voices within loyalism to find a constructive way of moving ahead in the peace process. For Unionists, the most prominent reaction to the political process at this time, as personified by the DUP, lay in shifts between outright rejection of the Agreement and dema…
After the Good Friday Agreement
Once the Agreement had been signed by the respective parties, a referendum was conducted to reveal the strength of public support for the settlement. For Sinn Fein, legitimising the referendum meant meeting with the Republican grassroots at a specially convened ardfheis in Dublin to change the party’s constitution, in order to allow part representatives to take seats in a Northern Ireland Assembly (overwhelmingly endorsed) (Bew and Gillespie 1999…
Containing Dialogue: The British Government and Early Talks in the Northern Ireland Peace Process
This article examines the role of the British government in talks with republicans and loyalists during the early stages of the Northern Ireland peace process. Since the priority of both the British and Irish governments was to draw paramilitary groups away from violence towards the political process, it was necessary to engage representatives of those groups in dialogue and demonstrate that political goals were more likely to be achieved through…
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland
The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland examines the changes and developments within parliamentary loyalism throughout the Northern Ireland peace process. Drawing from interviews with key players, i
Free Presbyterianism and Political Change in Northern Ireland
This article is an empirical study about the Free Presbyterian Church and its relationship to political change in Northern Ireland. Drawing from interviews conducted with Free Presbyterian clergy between September 2007 and April 2008, it seeks to explain why the Church sought to distance itself from Reverend Dr Ian Paisley's decision to accept power‐sharing with Nationalist and Republican opponents in 2007 and why Paisley stepped down as Church m…
Managing a Peace Process: An Interview with Jonathan Powell
This is an extended interview with Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff for the Blair government from 1997 to 2007, about the Northern Ireland peace process and the negotiations and talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and a power‐sharing Assembly led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin in 2007. The interview seeks to reveal what Powell and the British considered as key motivations and intentions in the peace pr…
Political science (31 works) · Irish and British Studies (28 works) · Law (25 works) · Sociology (25 works) · Politics (23 works) · Ethnology (12 works) · Northern ireland (12 works) · Media studies (11 works) · Philosophy (11 works) · Gender Studies (9 works)