Abstract
There seems to be a common feeling among the political and opinion leaders that some conflicts have last forever and will, somehow, always remain. This goes along with the assertion that some people can't overcome their ancient hatreds or differences, such as that between Israeli and Palestinians, Russians and Chechens, or Irish and British among others. Not only is this untrue, but it also conveys the idea that the Northern-Irish conflict is based on ethnic criteria; on an ontological opposition between the protestant Anglo-Normans and the catholic Celts. To me, the roots of the conflict have to be sought for in a political explanation that rests on three factors: property, power and perception.
