The Good Friday Agreement – Ending War and Ending Conflict in Northern Ireland

In this episode of Horns of a Dilemma, James B. Steinberg, a professor at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, who also served as deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration and deputy national security adviser under President Bill Clinton, discusses the process and considerations that led to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland. Based on his first-hand experience as a participant in the process, Steinberg explains how the parties involved were able to come to an agreement that allowed all of them to preserve their most important positions while finding space for compromise in order to end the violence. Steinberg’s talk, which builds on his recent article in the Texas National Security Review, was recorded as part of the University of Texas Clements Center Summer Seminar on History, Statecraft, and Diplomacy.