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Article: Peace in Northern Ireland: Why Now?
- Article from:
- Foreign Policy
- Article date:
- September 22, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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When the British and Irish governments and political parties in Northern Ireland reached their historic agreement on April 10, 1998, on Northern Ireland's future, most news coverage credited a blend of British prime minister Tony Blair's feel-good diplomacy, U.S. president Bill Clinton's eager sponsorship, Unionist Party leader David Trimble's brave flexibility, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams' attack of pacific statesmanship, and former U.S. Senate majority leader George Mitchell's dignified brokerage.
But another unsung factor played a key role in producing the so-called Good Friday Agreement (GFA): the Maastricht Treaty's impact on the definition of ...