John McGarry, OC (born 1957) is a political scientist from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. He was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and grew up in

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population ...

. He is currently Professor of Political Studies and

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Nationalism and Democracy at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of numerous influential books about

ethnic conflict An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic group's positio ...

and particularly

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. Many of the books were co-authored with

Brendan O'Leary Brendan O'Leary (born 19 March 1958) is an Irish political scientist, who is Lauder Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. He was formerly a professor at the London School of Economics. In 2009–10 he was the seco ...

, whom McGarry met when they both attended Saint MacNissi's College. McGarry and O'Leary's ''Policing Northern Ireland: Proposals for a New Start'' (Blackstaff Press, 1999) had a significant influence on the work of the

Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland was established in 1998 as part of the Belfast Agreement, intended as a major step in the Northern Ireland peace process. Chaired by Conservative politician the Lord Patten of Barnes, it ...

. He currently sits on the advisory council of the

Centre for the Study of Democracy Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and worked as a senior advisor on

power-sharing Power sharing is a practice in conflict resolution where multiple groups distribute political, military, or economic power among themselves according to agreed rules. It can refer to any formal framework or informal pact that regulates the distri ...

to the United Nations in 2008–09. In addition to teaching, he is currently the senior advisor on governance to the UN-led negotiations in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ...

. His contribution and work were recognised in 2010, when he was invested into the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

. He won Canada's prestigious Trudeau Fellowship Prize in 2011. In 2013, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, and the

Killam Prize The Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Prize was established according to the will of Dorothy J. Killam to honour the memory of her husband Izaak Walton Killam. Five Killam Prizes, each having a value of $100,000, are annually awarded by the Canada Co ...

. The latter is Canada's most prestigious research prize. In 2014, McGarry won the

Innis-Gérin Medal The Innis-Gérin Medal is an award of the Royal Society of Canada for a distinguished and sustained contribution to the literature of the social sciences. It was established in 1966 and is given biennially. The award is named in honor of Harold Inn ...

from the Royal Society of Canada, its top award in the social sciences. In 2015, his research on conflict resolution was recognised by the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) as one of the top 50 examples of "game-changing" research conducted in Ontario during the past 100 years. McGarry and O'Leary have long backed

consociationalism Consociationalism ( ) is a form of democratic power sharing. Political scientists define a consociational state as one which has major internal divisions along ethnic, religious, or linguistic lines, but which remains stable due to consultation ...

(power-sharing) as a method of

conflict management Conflict management is the process of limiting the negative aspects of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict. The aim of conflict management is to enhance learning and group outcomes, including effectiveness or performance ...

and are widely considered to be the two leading theorists working in this field. Arend Lijphart has been a significant influence on their work. In 2009, a book entitled ''Consociational Theory: McGarry and O'Leary and the Northern Ireland Conflict'' was published, edited by

Rupert Taylor Rupert Taylor (born 1958), is a professor of political studies and former head of the Department of Political Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, from 1987 to 2013. He was educated at the progressive independent Dartin ...

. On 30 June 2016, McGarry was made an

Officer of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

David Johnston for "his scholarly contributions to the study of ethnic conflict and for designing

Governance Frameworks Governance frameworks are the structure of a government and reflect the interrelated relationships, factors, and other influences upon the institution. ''Governance structure'' is often used interchangeably with ''governance framework'' as they bot ...

that promote peace."

References

External links

John McGarry's homepage
* Living people 1957 births Canada Research Chairs Scholars of nationalism Queen's University at Kingston faculty Canadian political scientists Officers of the Order of Canada Northern Ireland emigrants to Canada Writers from Belfast {{polisci-bio-stub