Abstract: Compares Northern Ireland with prosperous and peaceful Canada. It shows that Canada's relative tranquillity was not inevitable but owes much to the development of consociational practices by its English and French Canadian elites. Noel argues that if consociationalism is to work in Northern Ireland, its elites must also embrace a consociational bargain, a desire to compromise. He sees limited evidence of this, and is sceptical of the Agreement's prospects. The chapter is a useful reminder that it is possible to support consociationalism normatively, while recognizing that it remains a difficult system to operate, particularly in sites of profound polarization.

Keywords: Agreement, Canada, consociational bargain, consociationalism, elites, norms, Northern Ireland, polarization,