Peace and Conflict Studies - Spring 2014

Peace and Conflict Studies Volume 21, Number 1 36 conditions are necessary for inter-group contact to be beneficial (Pettigrew, 1998). The groups should have equal group status, work towards common goals, be able to cooperate with each other without intergroup competition and the contact should have the support of the relevant authorities or customs. The literature also highlights that important consideration should be given to the management of anxiety which accompanies inter-group contact (Hewstone, 2003; Pettigrew, 1998). An evaluation of CFPNI by Stringer and Murphy- Cowan (2008) finds that: the programme follows the key steps suggested by leading contact researchers. During the first stage cross community friendships are encouraged in a safe and anxiety free Northern Irish environment and friendships are given time to develop in the more religiously neutral USA context. During this initial stage relationships are also supported by important authority figures (parents, group co-ordinators and host families) providing essential support for cross group contacts. (p. 5) A common criticism of holiday schemes relates to a lack of follow up events in order to maintain friendships across the groups (Stringer & Cairns, 1992). It is argued that the impact can only be limited given the challenges of maintaining friendships once participants have returned to their everyday lives in a strongly divided society. Interestingly, this is something which CFPNI aimed to tackle. First, a key requirement in pairing up participants was that they must live within a few miles of each other. Parents were also actively involved in the process and had to agree to meet up at least once for a pre-departure program as well as agreeing to attend the follow-up program (Harroun, 2009). In particular, the project put a strong emphasis on its structured post-holiday programmes which included a reunion event where participants, parents, a selection of host families and CFPNI volunteer coordinators could come together to share what they had learned and experienced. More generally, questions have been raised about the need to go beyond the level of superficial contact towards engaging youth in understanding the root causes of conflict and analysing power relations within society. Despite theory highlighting the importance of intergroup inequalities, many programmes have been accused of operating at the level of interpersonal exchange that is unlikely to have an impact on broader social, institutional and structural change within conflict affected societies. A variety of studies have highlighted a failure of cross-community schemes to address divisive issues (McKeown & Cairns, 2012; Robinson & Brown, 1991). This may reflect the “avoidance culture” where there is evidence of a reluctance to discuss religion and politics (Niens & Cairns, 2008).