The Role of European Union (EU) Metagovernance in Supporting the Voluntary and Community Sector in Northern Ireland

ABSTRACT This article argues that European Union (EU) peacebuilding scholarship can benefit from organizational research on the socio‐spatial dynamics of policy implementation. It introduces a strategic‐relational heuristic to address two key gaps: the marginalization of grassroots agency in spatial analyses and the separation of strategy from structure. Drawing on the Strategic‐Relational Approach (SRA), the paper examines EU peacebuilding as a form of metagovernance. Using Northern Ireland as a case study, it shows how voluntary and community groups not only respond to but also shape metagovernance as an opportunity structure. Key dimensions—geographic reach, thematic focus, governance mechanisms, and spatial elements like territory, place, scale, and networks—are central to this process. Yet, persistent shortcomings reveal tensions where policy and politics intertwine. The article concludes that metagoverning peacebuilding is a dynamic, context‐specific process shaped by diverse actor strategies and overlapping territorial influences, requiring an understanding of both strategic tools and opportunity structure.