Book Review: PETER SHIRLOW AND KIERON MCEVOY, Beyond The Wire: Former Prisoners and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland, London: Pluto Press, 2008, x + 185 pp., ISBN 9780745326313, £16.99 (pbk)
| Author | Fiona McGrath |
| Published date | 01 June 2011 |
| Date | 01 June 2011 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/09646639110200020706 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Social & Legal Studies 20(2)
As I hope to have shown, there are particular studies here that will appeal to specialists
from a whole range of regions and topics. There are also, in the form of the first two chap-
ters, general discussions that have something to say to almost all social scientists inter-
ested in emerging and novel forms of law and governance.
Anthony Good
University of Edinburgh, UK
PETER SHIRLOW AND KIERON MCEVOY, Beyond The Wire: Former Prisoners and
Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland, London: Pluto Press, 2008, x þ 185 pp.,
ISBN 9780745326313, £16.99 (pbk).
Beyond the Wire examines the role played by former political prisoners – both loyalist
and republican – in conflict transformation in Northern Ireland through the peace pro-
cess. It suggests that rather than playing passive roles, these former political prisoners
have been key to the process of conflict transformation through the leadership they
have shown in helping communities turn away from cultures of violence, as well as
developing, on a more practical level, methods of resolving inter-communal conflict.
In emphasizing the importance of the work done by former prisoners in conflict
transformation, the authors also challenge the demonization of ex-prisoners and
the processes that result in them being excluded from areas of civic and social life.
Finally, the book sets out a new agenda for reconciliation in which the authors assert
that conflict transformation should begin at the ‘extremes’.
The work is based on research conducted in Belfast with politically motivated former
prisoner groups on both sides of the divide. The research, which was coordinated by a
steering group, incorporated a questionnaire survey, a workshop, focus-group meetings
and semi-structured interviews. The sample included equal numbers of Republican and
Loyalist former prisoners and their relatives. The inclusion of family members in the sam-
ple helps to assess the impact of imprisonment on communities as...
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