John Darby and Roger MacGinty (Basingstoke, England: Palgrave/Macmillan, 2002).

What factors facilitate or obstruct political movement during a peace process? Darby and MacGinty divide the Northern Ireland peace process into its constituent parts, allowing a thorough analysis. Chapters are devoted to political change, violence and security, economic factors, external influences, popular responses, and the role of symbols. Issues such as the sequencing of concessions, lending and borrowing between contemporary peace processes, and whether the peace process is top-down or bottom-up, are also covered. Drawing on interviews with key players (politicians and policymakers) in the peace process, the authors offer insights into the problems faced by those charged with nego-tiation in a deeply divided society. The book steps beyond a simple account of the Northern Ireland case, placing the conflict in the context of other con-temporary peace processes. Judged in this light, Northern Ireland's peace process is more successful than the daily headlines would suggest.

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