Leadership, liminality, and 'wicked' conflicts: John Hume and the untangling of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles'.

This article examines the leadership of John Hume in the context of the Northern Ireland conflict, known as the Troubles, and the subsequent peace process culminating in the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. It argues that Hume's effectiveness derived from his strategic inhabitation of liminal spaces—positions "betwixt and between" established identities and political norms—which enabled him to reframe the conflict, cultivate diverse stakeholders including the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and influential US politicians, open linguistic space for dialogue, practice disruptive engagement with paramilitary actors, and accept personal and political sacrifice. Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, the paper proposes a typology of five liminal leadership approaches that contributed to shifting a deeply entrenched, zero-sum, and "wicked" conflict toward a negotiated peace. The study highlights Hume's complex legacy as both a peacebuilder and a controversial figure, offering insights into leadership in protracted, violent conflicts and other intractable social problems.