Brendan O'Leary (born 19 March 1958) is an Irish

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

, who is Lauder Professor of Political Science at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. He was formerly a professor at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. 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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Biography

O'Leary is the author of numerous influential books about the

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

conflict, many of them co-authored with John McGarry, 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. He has been an international advisor to the Kurdistan National Assembly, responsible for advising on the constitutional reconstruction of

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Kurdistan Kurdistan (, ; ), or Greater Kurdistan, is a roughly defined geo- cultural region in West Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languages, and national identity have historically been based. G ...

, with special responsibility for federal arrangements and electoral laws. He has also advised the

, 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 Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and the UK's

Department for International Development The Department for International Development (DFID) was a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom, from 1997 to 2020. It was responsible for administering foreign aid ...

. Previously, he was a policy advisor to the British Labour Party, and political advisor to

Mo Mowlam Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam (18 September 1949 – 19 August 2005) was a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar (UK Parliament constituency), Redcar f ...

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 Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), British Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, secretary of state for ...

. 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. He authored ''How to Get Out of Iraq with Integrity'' (

University of Pennsylvania Press The University of Pennsylvania Press, also known as Penn Press, is a university press affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. History The press was originally incorporated with b ...

, 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 The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

References

External links

Biography at the University of Pennsylvania
{{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