Introduction: Motherhood, Everyday Life and Peace Processes

This chapter offers an introduction to the book by situating the study in the wider debates in sociology and peace and conflict studies and discussing the study’s contributions to the literature. Through sociological research, this book explores motherhood as a social role that buttresses peace processes through the voices of women who have engaged in childrearing during and after the Northern Ireland conflict, euphemistically called ‘the Troubles’. The study draws on narratives collected through life history and focus group interviews conducted in areas that bore the brunt of the conflict, involving 55 participants in total. This chapter comprises four parts. First, it begins by briefly discussing the literature on motherhood in conflict-affected societies and elucidating why foregrounding motherhood by listening to women’s voices from a sociological viewpoint is required in the field. Second, it introduces the background of the research areas and provides sociological definitions of the key terms used in the book: everyday life, risk, motherhood and peacebuilding. Third, it will elaborate on the methodology and the ethical considerations pertaining to this study. Fourth, it concludes by mapping out the following chapters in this book.