Issue 8: April – May 2001

Skilled political leadership
vital for peace process, says INCORE
report

Skilled political leadership in Northern Ireland is vital to the success of the Peace Process, according to a new report from the Initiative on Conflict Resolution and Ethnicity (INCORE).

Deepening tensions between politicians and a civil service unused to local political supervision could undermine the day-to-day working of the Assembly and the civil service, says report author Cathy Gormley-Heenan, who interviewed political leaders in Northern Ireland, Israel and South Africa during her research.

The report, called ‘From Protagonist to Pragmatist: Political Leadership in Societies in Transition’ focuses on the changing nature and challenges facing political leaders in societies in transition, and looks at developments in Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine and South Africa.

Said researcher Cathy Gormley-Heenan: “The challenges and issues facing the leadership in the post-agreement phase of any peace process can be as problematic as those faced during negotiations. Unless handled with care and attention, these issues may also have the potential to derail the process.”

Unlike the more widely reported stumbling blocks, such as decommissioning, demilitarization and police reform, she added, her research found that the political leaders were also concerned with possible uses and abuses of political power, their relationships with other party leaders, the dynamic with the civil service and the possibility of imminent elections.