In the study of deeply divided societies much emphasis is placed upon
the role of the state in generating, controlling and supressing social
and political conflict. An alternative emphasis is found in the view
that politics in states with divided societies must be concerned with
community building, accommodation and the removal of the roots of conf
lict. In developing this view the theories and structures of consociat
ional democracy have been much discussed since they were outlined by A
rendt Lijphart in 1968. Application of the principles of consociationa
lism to conflict ridden Northern Ireland serves only to highlight its
limitations as a means of conflict resolution. Yet the study of the po
litics of accommodation in Northern Ireland since 1972 through a growi
ng range of consociational policies in local government, education, em
ployment and the voluntary sector points to significant social change.
Cross community interaction prioritising non-political and non-consti
tutional issues set in a variety of non-sectarian contexts has burgeon
ed and created a social and cultural diversity rarely acknowledged in
writings on Northern Ireland. While it can be demonstrated that fundam
ental social change has occurred the significance of such change for t
he resolution of conflict and overarching constitutional reform is mor
e difficult to assess. It is concluded that the importance of social c
hange in Northern Ireland lies not so much in the arena of constitutio
nal reform as in its effect upon the para-military groups to sustain s
uccessfully violent conflict over a protracted period of time in the f
uture. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.