The Edge of the Union: The Ulster Loyalist Political Vision

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Northern Ireland "Troubles," once-dominant unionists are an increasingly alienated people. In this timely assessment of prospects for peace, Steve Bruce describes the increasingly embittered world view of the loyalist terrorists and the evangelical supporters of Ian Paisley and considers what these two important sections of Ulster unionism want, what they expect, and how they are liable to react to any of the political futures that are likely to be on offer. In describing the Troubles as a deeply entrenched ethnic conflict, the author argues that the strength of loyalist identity both defies much social science thinking about Northern Ireland and offers a more serious obstacle to government policy than is widely thought.