Citation

McGrattan C. Br. J. Polit. Int. Relat. 2010; 12(3): 425-441.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Political Studies Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-856X.2010.00405.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article critically assesses the scholarly representation of community‐based restorative justice (CBRJ) schemes in Northern Ireland. These schemes, which emerged in working‐class areas following the republican and loyalist ceasefires of the 1990s, have been the subject of intense political debate and a growing body of academic literature. I argue that the academic depiction of the schemes in republican areas ignores the substantial progress made by revisionist political scientists and historians in understanding Provisional republicanism. By failing to take that research into account, CBRJ scholars are in danger of not simply promoting vague, de‐contextualised policy prescriptions, but of actively reproducing republican understandings of political developments.