Republican grassroots may not be in open rebellion, but never before has there been such a huge gulf in feeling between the leadership and the base.
There is little support for the new ceasefire among Belfast IRA members. At best, there is passive acquiescence; at worst, open contempt.
A dissident in Andersonstown describes it as a greater "climbdown" than in 1969 when nationalists, "left defenceless before loyalists and the British", taunted that IRA stood for I Ran Away. "In 1997, IRA has come to mean `I Ran Again'," he said.
The man, who comes from a republican family, said the IRA had failed to "defend" its community after Drumcree. "The Orangemen were allowed to march down the Garvaghy Road and the RUC battered the heads of the nationalist people of Portadown, yet what did the IRA do?
"Most of the attacks on the RUC over the next few days were carried out by the INLA. When the Provos did open fire, they seemed to be doing it with their eyes closed."
Such outright hostility to the leadership, though, is not widespread. But faith in the future is thin on the ground in most republican strongholds.
The peace process is increasingly seen as a tedious game. Tony Blair might have altered the rules over recent weeks to allow Sinn Fein in, but activists don't believe that when play finishes in May, they will be the winners.
The timing of the ceasefire surprised most IRA members, who did not expect it until the end of the summer. Those interviewed by The Irish Times said they had been told the word "permanent" had deliberately been omitted and that the situation would be kept under "constant review".
However, some thought this was just a sop to quell potential dissent and that the ceasefire was safe for at least another 10 months. "This ceasefire will not be ended lightly," said another IRA member in Andersonstown.
"The leadership knows that cessations can't be announced and called off indefinitely. This is their last chance. They will be giving it their all."
The activist said the leadership was now substantially more moderate than its base. "Grassroots are basically being cajoled into accepting the ceasefire. We are being told: `We know your fears, we know your concerns, but we have all gone this far together, let's give this thing one final go'."
Republican leaders have told their base the situation is generally moving in their direction. The British government made concessions on the talks process, the most important being the removal of decommissioning as a stumbling-block.
And unionists and the Orange Order "capitulated" over the Twelfth march in the Lower Ormeau. Unionists can't behave badly and get away with it as they did in the past, the leadership argues. They must now temper their behaviour so as not to alienate international opinion.
However, most grassroots republicans don't believe unionists have changed sufficiently to agree to a settlement acceptable to nationalists. Neither do they believe Tony Blair will offer such a deal.
"I will go along with the ceasefire," says a former prisoner, "but at the end of the day I don't think they will offer us anything more than a partitionist settlement with cross-Border bodies and that isn't what the past 28 years of struggle have been about."
Another sceptic questions the value of all-party talks. "Tony Blair has already said that the Union will be maintained for at least another generation. What's there left to talk about? All we will be offered is Sunningdale Mark II.
"It would be madness to accept something now that we rejected then. It would be like going into a shop in 1974 to buy a video, haggling over the cost for 23 years, and then just paying the original price."
Opposition to the ceasefire in Belfast appears to be strongest in Ardoyne in north Belfast, where republicans are enraged they haven't been able to retaliate for a loyalist gun attack on a Catholic home last Wednesday.
A leading local IRA activist, who had been involved in several clashes with the Sinn Fein leaders, is increasingly seen as a thorn in the leadership's side and his influence is increasing among grassroots. IRA members say fund-raising and intelligence-gathering will continue during the ceasefire, although the latter will be more concealed than before. The last 18month ceasefire damaged the IRA substantially, with British intelligence making huge inroads.
Many activists fear the Provisionals will be left in an even weaker state by this ceasefire. However, an open challenge to the leadership seems unlikely in the short- to medium-term. Most members may privately complain about events but will ultimately adopt a "wait-and-see" stance.
There is still a fierce loyalty to the leadership and a desire to avoid a split. The Continuity Army Council and the Irish National Liberation Army have both failed to offer a credible alternative to the IRA in nationalist areas.