Unionists wanted the GFA to end Irish republican terrorism. Irish Republicans wanted the GFA to begin a legitimate and democratic path toward Irish unity. These are still fundamentally two peoples, with two conflicting national allegiances and identities. A quarter-century of peace without oppression is an achievement to be celebrated. And while the vast majority of Northern Irish people want peace to continue, the peace exists on a political settlement that is fundamentally unstable and arguably unwanted. Republicans want to make strides toward Irish Unity, and Unionists now want to repair the Union itself, injured by the Withdrawal Agreement. The Good Friday agreement arranges things to frustrate both aspirations for a long time to come.
[That may explain why there’s so little enthusiasm over commemorating the GFA. It did a very good job in ending the cycle of violence that had raged for almost 30 years, but it largely froze the conflict in place. It also politically empowered the more radically oriented parties as a result of the frustration of the frozen conflict, as Dougherty also concludes. That could have lasted for decades too, except that Brexit undermined the GFA, and none of the parties involved can figure out a viable compromise for it now. However, the halting of the violence is still very much worth celebrating. — Ed]
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