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Beyond the Troubles: Politics and Placemaking in the ‘New Northern Ireland'
The Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, and the Heseltine Institute, University of Liverpool, marked the launch of Dr Elizabeth DeYoung's book POWER, POLITICS AND TERRITORY IN THE ‘NEW NORTHERN IRELAND’ on 1 February 2024. The launch took the form of a conversation between Dr DeYoung and Dr Eleonore Perrin, chaired by Sue Jarvis, Co-Director of the Heseltine Institute. POWER, POLITICS AND TERRITORY IN THE ‘NEW NORTHERN IRELAND’ - GIRDWOOD BARRACKS AND THE STORY OF THE PEACE PROCESS (Liverpool University Press) In the wake of the Good Friday Agreement, the redevelopment of the former Girdwood Army Barracks in North Belfast was hailed as a ‘symbol of hope’ for Northern Ireland. It was a major investment in a former conflict zone and an internationally significant peacebuilding project. Instead of adhering to the tenets of the Agreement, sectarianism dominated the regeneration agenda. Throughout the process, politicians, community groups and paramilitaries wrangled over the site’s future, and territorial contest won out over housing need. After eleven years of negotiation and £11.7 million, the EU-funded Girdwood Community Hub opened its doors to the public in 2016, but its impact has been underwhelming. The Hub’s redevelopment is a microcosm of the peace process itself, and the ways in which post-Agreement politics have failed to deliver a ‘shared future’ for the people of Northern Ireland, twenty-five years on. This ethnography provides a lively account of Girdwood’s redevelopment and a wry critique of the fractious political context around it. Through flânerie and encounter, the author brings us across peace walls, into community meetings and behind the scenes of decision-making in Northern Ireland. Girdwood’s story also sheds light on how power, politics and territory intersect in divided cities globally. The book is out now as hardback or ebook: https://www.liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10.3828/9781837644674 "Walking as Methodology: Tracing post-conflict Belfast on foot" a blog post by Dr DeYoung for Liverpool University Press can be read at https://liverpooluniversitypress.blog/2024/01/19/walking-as-methodology-tracing-post-conflict-belfast-on-foot/. DR ELIZABETH DEYOUNG is a Research Scientist and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-leads research initiatives on basic income at a national scale at the university’s Center for Guaranteed Income Research. Prior to her appointment at the Center, Dr. DeYoung was awarded a Mellon/ACLS Public Postdoctoral Fellowship, and led social policy research initiatives at Reinvestment Fund in Philadelphia. She earned a PhD at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, where her doctoral work focused on post-conflict politics and planning in Northern Ireland. She also received an MA in Irish Studies from Queen University Belfast and a BA in International Affairs and Modern Languages from Northeastern University. Dr. DeYoung has authored several peer-reviewed publications, policy briefs and white papers, along with her first book with Liverpool University Press. DR ELEONORE PERRIN is currently an ESRC Postdoctoral fellow at Queen’s University Belfast. Her current project aims at promoting research on co-operatives economies and alternative economic practices in Northern Ireland and investigates the role of political actors such as trade unions in envisioning post-growth strategies. She holds a PhD from the University of Liverpool, which consisted in an original analysis of the worker co-operative sector and movement in Northern Ireland, exploring processes of neoliberalisation of post-Agreement Northern Ireland and the contribution of worker co-operatives to foster alternative strategies for post-conflict transformation. SUE JARVIS joined the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place at the University of Liverpool in 2019 as Co-Director. A former director at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Knowsley Council, Sue is an expert on public policy, employment and skills, and local and regional economic development, including English devolution. She has senior leadership experience of delivering public services, including complex programmes where activities are undertaken by partners across multiple agencies. At the Heseltine Institute Sue leads engagement across local and regional stakeholders to align academic research with policymaking to explore critical public policy challenges and choices facing cities and city regions. Her role includes working as academic advisor to the Liverpool City Region All Party Parliamentary Group, evaluating the impact of national policies on local prosperity and leading key agendas of civic engagement. Since joining the Heseltine Institute, Sue has secured and delivered research grant and consultancy from UKRI, the British Academy and the Local Government Association focused on community assets and public services to address local challenges in place.
