THE fallout from Drumcree is a large enough crisis to be both a scary reminder and a positive opportunity.

Which of those it turns out to be depends on an understanding of the elements that underpinned the ending of violence and the space that allowed an imperfect peace to flourish.

That imperfect peace was built on institutions that had the authority and sustainability to absorb any and every crisis.

The underpinning institution was not the Executive, nor the police, nor the courts, nor the Parades Commission, nor any of the plethora of other important organisations.

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The relationship between the British and Irish governments was and is the foundational stone.

Apart from the formal governmental meetings, that foundational stone was to be incarnated and implemented in the north-south and east-west bodies.

Those two bodies were a recognition that the problems and the solutions were not confined only to Northern Ireland but also within the history and competence of........

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