Power Sharing in Deeply Divided Societies: Consociationalism in Wonderland and the Northern Ireland Peace Process

Consociationalists have claimed nearly 50 successful cases of conflict management. This article argues that Classic Consociationalism has been constantly revised so that the theory has become ambiguous, incoherent, and even contradictory. Consociationalists have entered Wonderland in the sense that their theory now appears to be anything that they want it to be. Paradoxically, theoretical incoherence has made Consociationalism academically powerful because the theory can be marketed as all things to all people. Consociational theorists have revised their theory to claim a successful Northern Ireland case study and used its academic prestige to advance an anti-unionist political agenda