Pro-unionist negotiators argued that the accord had maintained the union and perpetuated British sovereignty. On the other hand, Sinn Féin argued that its constitutional agenda was being advanced, and highlighted the practical security concessions made and the enhanced role for the party in governing the territory alongside the British government. The hostile reactions by some unionist factions may have made it easier for the republicans to sell the accord to their supporters.59 Clarity would have been undermining. Finally, the changing international context within which the negotiations
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