The Belfast Workshop

Abstract

The Belfast Workshop brought together 56 Catholic and Protestant citizens of Belfast during August 1972. Through an intervention design which combined Tavistock and National Training Laboratory group dynamics approaches, a team of American social scientists attempted to assist the 56 to learn about their behavior in organized groups and better to understand their political opponents' situation. The workshop sought further to provide a protected setting wherein groups might explore modes of intercommunal cooperation that could later be implemented back in Belfast. This article describes the rationale behind the intervention, the methods employed, and the difficulties such enterprises encounter. It also offers a preliminary report on what was accomplished and suggests implications for long-term solutions of the conflict.