Fantasy Politics? Restructuring Unionism after the Good Friday Agreement

The current arrangements are not a settlement, but a process of concessions-concessions that have turned conventional wisdom on its head.Government policy has been to reward those who do wrong whilst punishing those who want to be democratic.What kind of peace process is that?Democracy must not be held to ransom by gunmen.¹Peter Robinson, Deputy Leader of the Democratic Unionist Party While most Protestants welcomed the improved atmosphere arising from the peace process and the cease-fires, they remained suspicious of the motives of those involved, including the Labour government, Dublin, the SDLP and, particularly, Sinn Féin.Although they stood to gain from the restoration of devolved government and nationalist endorsement of the principle of consent, they had lost, at least psychologically, by having to include Sinn Féin in the new administration.They were fearful for the long-term future of the British link, with devolved structures evolving in Scotland and Wales and with nationalists given equal representation with unionists in the -member executive.²Barry White, Belfast Telegraph 189 .Peter Robinson, "Why Unionists are Waking Up," Right Now! (March/April ), -..Barry White, "The Peace Process: A Question of Definition," in Dominic Murray, ed., Protestant Perceptions of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland (University of Limerick: Centre for Peace and Development Studies, ).Fantasy Politics?Restructuring Unionism after the Good Friday