Intimidation and the Control of Conflict in Northern Ireland

An extremely interesting and readable study of three communities in Northern Ireland in the period of the most recent "Troubles" (1969-1984). Most of the research was carried out in the mid-1970s. Two housing estates (public housing projects) in Belfast and a middle-sized, relatively middle-class country town in County Tyrone were followed through the onset of open conflict, the period of intimidation and forced relocation of families along sectarian lines, and the present state of affairs. The viewpoint is open and far from academic (although the author is himself an academic). He has some striking opinions-e.g., that segregation may not always be a bad thing-and his conclusions are reassuring: an all-out civil war is not likely in Northern Ireland.