> while The Troubles didn't induce the UK to give any concessions it wasn't already willing to give beforehand.
You're saying that the Brits would have agreed to let Northern Ireland vote to join rejoin the rest of Ireland at some point in the future WITHOUT force of arms? I don't believe you. And yes, that was included [0] in the Good Friday Agreement.
And even if most insurgencies fail, "let's not do that because it might provoke an insurgency" is valuable all on its own.
Scotland got its devolution referendums and independence referendums without severe political violence, so I suspect that the British would have been willing to let such a vote happen if the Sunningdale agreement had lasted longer.
An alternative interpretation is that Scotland got its independence referendums because London had seen how much of a clusterfuck the "no, let's ignore the desires of this not-a-colony" route could end up being.
You're saying that the Brits would have agreed to let Northern Ireland vote to join rejoin the rest of Ireland at some point in the future WITHOUT force of arms? I don't believe you. And yes, that was included [0] in the Good Friday Agreement.
And even if most insurgencies fail, "let's not do that because it might provoke an insurgency" is valuable all on its own.
0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement#Status_o...