Resolving nationalist conflicts: Promoting overlapping identities and pooling sovereignty - The 1998 Northern Irish Peace Agreement

Nationalist and ethnic conflicts are a continuing source of tension in the post-Cold Spar period. The underlying factors affecting such conflicts are threat perception, ethnic security dilemmas, and lack of trust between nati onalist/ethnic groups. The challenge is to fad solutions to these conflicts . International institutions can establish trust and reduce the ethnic secu rity dilemma by providing multiple forums of representation, promoting over lapping identities, and pooling sovereignty. Pooling sovereignty across a n umber of international representative bodies leads to increased access to g overnmental policymaking, with each party having a stake in government, and leads to a reduction in political tension and conflict. Thus, internationa l parliamentary institutions may provide a solution to these conflicts. The British-Irish Peace Agreement (Good Friday Agreement) of 1998 is examined as an illustration of this argument.