'The Northern Ireland Peace Process transformed a violent conflict into a cold peace.'IntroductionThe Northern Ireland Peace Process describes the period of negotiations over more public and ceasefires that took place following the Anglo-Irish Agreement in 1985. It culminated in the bilateral Good Friday Agreement (the GFA or Agreement) in 1998, on which Successful referendums have been held in both Northern Ireland (NI) and the Republic of Ireland (RoI). The agreement became synonymous with the St Andrew Agreement of 2006 and the Hillsborough Agreement of 2010 as part of this process. The agreement provided a consociationalist framework for power sharing in NI as a means of political settlement, requiring cross-community support for decisions through various mechanisms ensuring that no party or community could dominate the Assembly. If the reference to the consociationalist model is necessary, it is not enough to understand the complexity of the Agreement. Commitment to a culture of equality, a new human rights regime, reform of the RUC and criminal justice system and an accelerated prisoner release program have each contributed to the uniqueness of the Agreement. However, almost sixteen years after the referendums on the GFA, the Northern Irish peace process remains incomplete according to most interpretations available to the "academic crows feeding on the carrion of conflict". In fact, often where the peace process is considered complete, it is also considered a failure. This essay will attempt to determine whether or not it continues on a path of progression toward a completed process, or whether regression and inertia have created a backsliding toward completion. Measuring peace before 2010...... middle of article.... ..misguided concessions that undermined moderate players in the long term. Most people would agree that the triumph of hardliners like Sinn Fein or the DUP is preferable to no devolution or a return to the 'Troubles'. However, the more sectarian the governing parties, the less likely they will tackle the high levels of segregation and economic inequality which continue to blight NI and prevent the end of sectarianism and the completion of the process of peace. the optimal outcome can be attributed to a combination of structural weaknesses and inadequacies of the political class. Structural reforms, linked to a renewal and realignment of policy, are therefore necessary to revive the sense of common purpose which animated the most idealistic supporters of the Agreement in 1998 and which dissipated in the years who followed..