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 second Senior Advisor on Power-Sharing in the Standby Team of the Mediation Support Unit of the Department of Political Affairs of the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
.
Biography
O'Leary is the author of numerous influential books about the
Northern Ireland conflict, many of them co-authored with
John McGarry
John McGarry, OC (born 1957) is a political scientist from Northern Ireland. He was born in Belfast and grew up in Ballymena, County Antrim. He is currently Professor of Political Studies and Canada Research Chair in Nationalism and Democracy a ...
, whom he 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) is considered to have 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 has been an international advisor to the
Kurdistan National Assembly
The Parliament of Kurdistan ( ku, پەرلەمانی كوردستان ,Perlemanê Kurdistanê or simply Perleman, ar, برلمان كردستان, links=https://www.parliament.krd/arabic/), also called the Kurdish Parliament (IKP), is the par ...
, responsible for advising on the constitutional reconstruction of
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Kurdistan, with special responsibility for federal arrangements and electoral laws.
He has also advised the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
and the UK's
Department for International Development.
Previously, he was a policy advisor to the British
Labour Party, and political advisor to
Mo Mowlam and
Kevin McNamara during their respective spells as
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is a member of the British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and their department, the Northern Ireland Office. The post is currently hel ...
.
[ In the course of his career he has supervised more than thirty doctoral dissertations, including those of political scientists ]Stefan Wolff
Stefan Wolff is a German political scientist. He is a specialist in international security, particularly in the management, settlement and prevention of ethnic conflicts. He is currently Professor of International Security at the University of ...
, Katharine Adeney, Lori Thorlakson, Shelley Deane and Tristan James Mabry.
In both his own writings and those with John McGarry, O'Leary has long backed consociationalism as a method of conflict management for Northern Ireland, and is supportive of the Good Friday Agreement. In this regard, Arend Lijphart has been a significant influence on O'Leary's 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 ...
.
He is also the author of ''How to Get Out of Iraq with Integrity'' ( University of Pennsylvania Press, 2009). Recent books include "Power-Sharing in Deeply Divided Places" (co-edited with J. McEvoy), "Divided Nations and European Integration" (co-edited with T.Mabry, J.McGarry and M. Moore), and "Courts and Consociations" (coauthored with Christopher McCrudden).
In 2017 he became a member of the Royal Irish Academy.
References
External links
Biography at the University of Pennsylvania
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleary, Brendan
1958 births
Irish political scientists
Alumni of the London School of Economics
Living people
Members of the Royal Irish Academy
Scholars of nationalism