“a triumph of top-down politics”?

There have already been a few attempts at considering what, if any, lessons there are to be learned from the “indigenous” deal that could be applied elsewhere [Too soon to say? – Ed], but Adrian Hamilton in The Independent does make an important point

The majority of the population certainly wanted peace, but they do not appear to have sought reconciliation. Their demand for an end to civil strife played its part in propelling events. But, in essence, the restoration of power sharing has been a triumph of top-down politics, not bottom-up social change.

It’s an observation with echoes of the “deeply fractured society” that Peter Shirlow described previously, and Eric Waugh’s warning for “the new dual regime”, whilst placing it in an historical context, is worth looking at – although the ‘tops’ already appear to be a little uncertain of their footing. The question to be answered in the time ahead, though, is whether the latest political arrangement can avoid being infected either by the stench of the Faustian pact at the heart of that top-down Process™.. or by the poisonous foundations it’s been placed down on.

Pete Baker