On 1 September 1994 the Provisional Irish Republican Army declared a 'complete cessation of military operations'. After 25 years of violence, the sounds of guns and bombs may be about to disappear from the streets of Northern Ireland. The overall impact of this change, in economic and social terms, is not easy to predict, but the effect of a ceasefire on the conflict - in its widest sense - requires careful analysis.

To begin with, it is a defining characteristic of all internal conflicts that they are never completely solved. The ceasefire suggests that one facet has been, for the moment, resolved and it is probable that this will be followed by the emergence of new democratic structures and institutional forms.

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The purpose of this book is to illustrate that the end of violence and the accompanying political accommodations are only the first steps in a long-term process of social reconstruction. Although the quantity of the material published about the conflict is very large, there is no current up-to-date book which provides a background to the range of social, legal, political, religious, economic and cultural issues which influence, or are influenced by, the conflict.

The authors are all practising social-science researchers currently - or recently - working within Northern Ireland, and much of the material presented arises from the wide range of research carried out at the Centre for the Study of Conflict, University of Ulster, during the past 17 years.