James W McAuley - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by James W McAuley

Research paper thumbnail of Dedicated to the Cause: The Role of Identity in Initiating, Sustaining and Diminishing Violent Extremism

European Psychologist, Mar 21, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Dedicated to the Cause

European Psychologist, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of “Us” and “Them”: Ulster Loyalist Perspectives on the IRA and Irish Republicanism

Terrorism and Political Violence, Apr 19, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Social movements, structural violence, and conflict transformation in Northern Ireland: The role of loyalist paramilitaries

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Feb 1, 2018

This article analyses how social movements and collective actors can affect political and social ... more This article analyses how social movements and collective actors can affect political and social transformation in a structurally violent society using the case study of Northern Ireland. We focus, in particular, on the crucial role played by collective actors within the loyalist community (those who wish to maintain Northern Ireland's place in the UK), in bringing about social and political transformation in a society blighted by direct, cultural, and structural violence both during the conflict and subsequent peace process. Drawing on data obtained through in-depth interviews with loyalist activists (including former paramilitaries), the article demonstrates the role and impact of loyalists and loyalism in Northern Ireland's transition. We identify five conflict transformation challenges addressed by loyalist actors in a structurally violent society: de-mythologizing the conflict; stopping direct violence; resisting pressure to maintain the use of violence; development of robust activist identity; and the measurement of progress through reference to the parallel conflict transformation journey of their former republican enemies. The Northern Ireland case demonstrates the necessity for holistic conflict transformation strategies which attempt not only to stop direct attacks, but also the cultural and structural violence which underpin and legitimize them. In so doing, the article contributes to a broader understanding of how and why paramilitary campaigns are brought to an end.

Research paper thumbnail of The Northern Ireland ‘Culture Wars’ Symposium Report: November 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Britishness, identity and citizenship: the view from abroad

Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 1, 2011

Contents: Catherine McGlynn/Andrew Mycock/James W. McAuley: Introduction - Britishness, Identity ... more Contents: Catherine McGlynn/Andrew Mycock/James W. McAuley: Introduction - Britishness, Identity and Citizenship: The View from Abroad - Charles V. Reed: Respectable Subjects of the Queen: The Royal Tour of 1901 and Imperial Citizenship in South Africa - Antoine Mioche: Britishness: The Imperial Vision of William Knox (1732-1810) - Angela McCarthy: Scottishness and Britishness among New Zealand's Scots Since 1840 - David Levey: National Identity and Allegiance in Gibraltar - Elleke Boehmer/Sumita Mukherjee: Re-making Britishness: Indian Contributions to Oxford University, c. 1860-1930 - Meenakshi Sharma: The Empire of English and Its Legacy: A Citizenship of the Mind - Francoise Ugochukwu: From Nwana to Adichie: Britishness goes Full Circle in Nigerian Literature - Karine Tournier-Sol: Britishness and European Integration since 1997 in the French Press - Kath Woodward/David Goldblatt/James Wyllie: British Fair Play: Sport across Diasporas at the BBC World Service - Amy von Heyking: 'Proud to call themselves Englishmen': Representations of Britishness in Twentieth Century English-Canadian Schools - Thomas Thurnell-Read: 'Here Comes the Drunken Cavalry': Managing and Negotiating the Britishness of All-Male Stag Tours in Eastern Europe - A. James Hammerton: 'Thatcher's Refugees': Shifting Identities among Late Twentieth Century British Emigrants - Ben Wellings: The English in Australia: A Non-Nation in Search of an Ethnicity? - Tamara Van Kessel: 'Britishness' as promoted by the British Council in the 1930s and 1940s - Alan Sears/Ian Davies/Alan Reid: From Britishness to Nothingness and Back Again: Looking for a Way Forward in Citizenship Education - Andrew Mycock/Catherine McGlynn/Rhys Andrews: Understanding the 'History Wars' in Australia and the UK.

Research paper thumbnail of Imprisonment, ideological development and change

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Electoral Politics

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 3, 2019

Chapter 3 analyses the electoral consequences of the UUP’s support for the Belfast Agreement. The... more Chapter 3 analyses the electoral consequences of the UUP’s support for the Belfast Agreement. The UUP fell from its perch, suffering electoral collapse and the loss of all the party’s Westminster MPs by 2010, before temporarily recovering in 2015 only to lose Westminster representation again two years later. The electoral problems of the UUP arose as unionists lost confidence in the Belfast Agreement. The UUP was engulfed by internal chaos and the DUP picked off the talent from its rival, outwitting the UUP politically and offering impressive internal discipline. The DUP claimed to offer the unionist electorate a better arrangement than the deal negotiated by the UUP, a successful electoral pitch. The chapter assesses the UUP’s attempts to shore up its position, via a variety of alliances—with the Conservatives in 2010, via electoral pacts with the DUP in 2015 and a cross-community pitch for nationalist vote transfers in 2017.

Research paper thumbnail of Same but different? The Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Unionist Party compared

Routledge eBooks, Jun 23, 2021

Northern Ireland's two main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio... more Northern Ireland's two main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) have undergone divergent fortunes since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA) as the DUP has prospered whilst the UUP has struggled. This article draws upon recent studies of the memberships of both parties to explore their perceptions of the change in respective electoral standings and to examine the extent to which the parties now converge or differ in policies, membership composition and outlook. Examining three aspects in particularidentity, religious make-up and gender balance, we assess whether the two main unionist parties are largely similar or if significant intra-unionist differences are evident.

Research paper thumbnail of The Maintenance of Republican Ideology and Tactics in the Discourses of IRA Former Prisoners

Peace and Conflict Studies, 2008

The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland h... more The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland has generally failed to account for the attitudes and opinions of former combatants concerning the nature and meaning of discursively constructed identities and political strategies. This invisibility is peculiar in that debates concerning ideological shifts have been driven by academic analysis or by those former combatants who maintain that the Irish peace process is paralleled by core ideological abandonment. The material presented within this article indicates that former Provisional Irish Republican prisoners do not view the peace process as involving ideological ditching but instead that their commitment to republican discourse remains complete.

Research paper thumbnail of Conflict transformation and changing perceptions of the ‘other’

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Politically motivated prisoners in Northern Ireland

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Staying Engaged in Terrorism: Narrative Accounts of Sustaining Participation in Violent Extremism

Frontiers in Psychology, Jun 17, 2020

Research exploring radicalization pathways and how and why people become involved in terrorism ha... more Research exploring radicalization pathways and how and why people become involved in terrorism has expanded since the 9/11 attacks. Likewise, over the last decade research exploring de-radicalization and desistence from terrorism has grown and expanded in an attempt to promote exit from extremist or terror groups. However, research studies on how individuals sustain engagement in terrorism and their involvement with extremist organizations, often in the face of great adversity, are absent from the body of research. To address this scarcity of research this study analyzed accounts of engagement in violent extremism produced by Northern Irish loyalist and republican paramilitaries in order to explore how their paramilitary lifestyle, perpetration of acts of political violence and the pressure from countering threats posed by rival groups, and the State security forces impacted on them. The analysis utilized a hybrid of thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes raised through the analysis reflected the psychological, social and economic hardship associated with this lifestyle. The narrative accounts also illustrated psychological changes associated to engagement in violence and from insulation within tightly knit extremist groups. As most of the participants faced incarceration during their paramilitary careers, themes also reflected on the impact imprisonment had on them. The themes explored factors that sustained their involvement, including the role of identity development and identity fusion in sustaining their extremism, the impact of insulated group membership, feelings of efficacy, dehumanization processes, community support, and beliefs in the utility of violence.

Research paper thumbnail of Radicalization or Reaction: Understanding Engagement in Violent Extremism in Northern Ireland

Political Psychology, Sep 15, 2019

The authors would also like to thank all of the researchers who were involved in collecting the d... more The authors would also like to thank all of the researchers who were involved in collecting the data presented in this article, including Mark Burgess, Ian Hollywood etc, etc. Radicalization or Reaction 2 Radicalization or Reaction: Understanding Engagement in Violent Extremism in Northern Ireland Since the terror attacks on 9/11 and the bombings on the train and underground networks in Madrid and London in 2004 and 2005 respectively, there has been a major growth in research exploring the routes in violent extremism or terrorism and the mechanisms which lead to individuals and groups to committing these acts, while the recent rise of Islamic State (ISIS) and the recent terror attacks across Europe, Canada, the US and elsewhere have renewed policy interest in these processes and further accelerated research in this area (Jasko, LaFree & Kruganski, 2016). While there are clear developments in the field and, in particular in the design of models or pathways exploring radicalization (for example, McCauley &

Research paper thumbnail of 6. Ulster Loyalist Accounts of Armed Mobilization, Demobilization, and Decommissioning

Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2017

A section of the population here tried to overthrow the state by force of arms, and the British g... more A section of the population here tried to overthrow the state by force of arms, and the British government, after the fall of Stormont, failed in their fundamental right, or the fundamental thing for them was to protect life and to me they failed in that. I could have easily got involved with the RUC, because, I mean, I wasn't involved in any criminal activity before I joined the Ulster Volunteer Force, but I felt that we had been let down by our government, who had handcuffed the security forces with their policy of appeasement and restraint rather than the same sort of policy they used in the conflict in the Falklands. If they had had the same attitude towards republicans, I don't think it would have been a war. I think it would have been a conflict that could have been put down in a couple of years.

Research paper thumbnail of Former prisoners and societal reconstruction

Manchester University Press eBooks, Jul 19, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of List of abbreviations

Manchester University Press eBooks, Jul 19, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Action Before Ideology': Understanding the role of age andknowledge in the 'Troubles in Northern Ireland/Ireland’

... Shirlow, Peter, McAuley, James W., Tonge, Jonathan and McGlynn, Catherine (2008) Action Befor... more ... Shirlow, Peter, McAuley, James W., Tonge, Jonathan and McGlynn, Catherine (2008) Action Before Ideology': Understanding the role of age and knowledge in the 'Troubles in Northern Ireland/Ireland'. In: Youth Radicalisation ...

Research paper thumbnail of One Day in July: Blood, Thunder and Street Politics in Belfast

The Orange Order is a large and complex voluntary, communal organisation. While it once claimed a... more The Orange Order is a large and complex voluntary, communal organisation. While it once claimed a membership of up to 120,000 (one in three of all Protestant males in Northern Ireland) the current strength of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland (GOLI) is estimated at somewhere around forty thousand members. Nonetheless, for many Protestants the Order continues to offer a central focus for social life, and although its political and religious importance has declined in recent years it still retains an important influence in those ...

Research paper thumbnail of Ulster loyalism, memory and commemoration

Manchester University Press eBooks, Feb 14, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Dedicated to the Cause: The Role of Identity in Initiating, Sustaining and Diminishing Violent Extremism

European Psychologist, Mar 21, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Dedicated to the Cause

European Psychologist, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of “Us” and “Them”: Ulster Loyalist Perspectives on the IRA and Irish Republicanism

Terrorism and Political Violence, Apr 19, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Social movements, structural violence, and conflict transformation in Northern Ireland: The role of loyalist paramilitaries

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Feb 1, 2018

This article analyses how social movements and collective actors can affect political and social ... more This article analyses how social movements and collective actors can affect political and social transformation in a structurally violent society using the case study of Northern Ireland. We focus, in particular, on the crucial role played by collective actors within the loyalist community (those who wish to maintain Northern Ireland's place in the UK), in bringing about social and political transformation in a society blighted by direct, cultural, and structural violence both during the conflict and subsequent peace process. Drawing on data obtained through in-depth interviews with loyalist activists (including former paramilitaries), the article demonstrates the role and impact of loyalists and loyalism in Northern Ireland's transition. We identify five conflict transformation challenges addressed by loyalist actors in a structurally violent society: de-mythologizing the conflict; stopping direct violence; resisting pressure to maintain the use of violence; development of robust activist identity; and the measurement of progress through reference to the parallel conflict transformation journey of their former republican enemies. The Northern Ireland case demonstrates the necessity for holistic conflict transformation strategies which attempt not only to stop direct attacks, but also the cultural and structural violence which underpin and legitimize them. In so doing, the article contributes to a broader understanding of how and why paramilitary campaigns are brought to an end.

Research paper thumbnail of The Northern Ireland ‘Culture Wars’ Symposium Report: November 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Britishness, identity and citizenship: the view from abroad

Peter Lang eBooks, Jul 1, 2011

Contents: Catherine McGlynn/Andrew Mycock/James W. McAuley: Introduction - Britishness, Identity ... more Contents: Catherine McGlynn/Andrew Mycock/James W. McAuley: Introduction - Britishness, Identity and Citizenship: The View from Abroad - Charles V. Reed: Respectable Subjects of the Queen: The Royal Tour of 1901 and Imperial Citizenship in South Africa - Antoine Mioche: Britishness: The Imperial Vision of William Knox (1732-1810) - Angela McCarthy: Scottishness and Britishness among New Zealand's Scots Since 1840 - David Levey: National Identity and Allegiance in Gibraltar - Elleke Boehmer/Sumita Mukherjee: Re-making Britishness: Indian Contributions to Oxford University, c. 1860-1930 - Meenakshi Sharma: The Empire of English and Its Legacy: A Citizenship of the Mind - Francoise Ugochukwu: From Nwana to Adichie: Britishness goes Full Circle in Nigerian Literature - Karine Tournier-Sol: Britishness and European Integration since 1997 in the French Press - Kath Woodward/David Goldblatt/James Wyllie: British Fair Play: Sport across Diasporas at the BBC World Service - Amy von Heyking: 'Proud to call themselves Englishmen': Representations of Britishness in Twentieth Century English-Canadian Schools - Thomas Thurnell-Read: 'Here Comes the Drunken Cavalry': Managing and Negotiating the Britishness of All-Male Stag Tours in Eastern Europe - A. James Hammerton: 'Thatcher's Refugees': Shifting Identities among Late Twentieth Century British Emigrants - Ben Wellings: The English in Australia: A Non-Nation in Search of an Ethnicity? - Tamara Van Kessel: 'Britishness' as promoted by the British Council in the 1930s and 1940s - Alan Sears/Ian Davies/Alan Reid: From Britishness to Nothingness and Back Again: Looking for a Way Forward in Citizenship Education - Andrew Mycock/Catherine McGlynn/Rhys Andrews: Understanding the 'History Wars' in Australia and the UK.

Research paper thumbnail of Imprisonment, ideological development and change

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Electoral Politics

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jan 3, 2019

Chapter 3 analyses the electoral consequences of the UUP’s support for the Belfast Agreement. The... more Chapter 3 analyses the electoral consequences of the UUP’s support for the Belfast Agreement. The UUP fell from its perch, suffering electoral collapse and the loss of all the party’s Westminster MPs by 2010, before temporarily recovering in 2015 only to lose Westminster representation again two years later. The electoral problems of the UUP arose as unionists lost confidence in the Belfast Agreement. The UUP was engulfed by internal chaos and the DUP picked off the talent from its rival, outwitting the UUP politically and offering impressive internal discipline. The DUP claimed to offer the unionist electorate a better arrangement than the deal negotiated by the UUP, a successful electoral pitch. The chapter assesses the UUP’s attempts to shore up its position, via a variety of alliances—with the Conservatives in 2010, via electoral pacts with the DUP in 2015 and a cross-community pitch for nationalist vote transfers in 2017.

Research paper thumbnail of Same but different? The Democratic Unionist Party and Ulster Unionist Party compared

Routledge eBooks, Jun 23, 2021

Northern Ireland's two main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unio... more Northern Ireland's two main unionist parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) have undergone divergent fortunes since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA) as the DUP has prospered whilst the UUP has struggled. This article draws upon recent studies of the memberships of both parties to explore their perceptions of the change in respective electoral standings and to examine the extent to which the parties now converge or differ in policies, membership composition and outlook. Examining three aspects in particularidentity, religious make-up and gender balance, we assess whether the two main unionist parties are largely similar or if significant intra-unionist differences are evident.

Research paper thumbnail of The Maintenance of Republican Ideology and Tactics in the Discourses of IRA Former Prisoners

Peace and Conflict Studies, 2008

The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland h... more The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland has generally failed to account for the attitudes and opinions of former combatants concerning the nature and meaning of discursively constructed identities and political strategies. This invisibility is peculiar in that debates concerning ideological shifts have been driven by academic analysis or by those former combatants who maintain that the Irish peace process is paralleled by core ideological abandonment. The material presented within this article indicates that former Provisional Irish Republican prisoners do not view the peace process as involving ideological ditching but instead that their commitment to republican discourse remains complete.

Research paper thumbnail of Conflict transformation and changing perceptions of the ‘other’

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Politically motivated prisoners in Northern Ireland

Manchester University Press eBooks, May 24, 2010

Research paper thumbnail of Staying Engaged in Terrorism: Narrative Accounts of Sustaining Participation in Violent Extremism

Frontiers in Psychology, Jun 17, 2020

Research exploring radicalization pathways and how and why people become involved in terrorism ha... more Research exploring radicalization pathways and how and why people become involved in terrorism has expanded since the 9/11 attacks. Likewise, over the last decade research exploring de-radicalization and desistence from terrorism has grown and expanded in an attempt to promote exit from extremist or terror groups. However, research studies on how individuals sustain engagement in terrorism and their involvement with extremist organizations, often in the face of great adversity, are absent from the body of research. To address this scarcity of research this study analyzed accounts of engagement in violent extremism produced by Northern Irish loyalist and republican paramilitaries in order to explore how their paramilitary lifestyle, perpetration of acts of political violence and the pressure from countering threats posed by rival groups, and the State security forces impacted on them. The analysis utilized a hybrid of thematic analysis and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The themes raised through the analysis reflected the psychological, social and economic hardship associated with this lifestyle. The narrative accounts also illustrated psychological changes associated to engagement in violence and from insulation within tightly knit extremist groups. As most of the participants faced incarceration during their paramilitary careers, themes also reflected on the impact imprisonment had on them. The themes explored factors that sustained their involvement, including the role of identity development and identity fusion in sustaining their extremism, the impact of insulated group membership, feelings of efficacy, dehumanization processes, community support, and beliefs in the utility of violence.

Research paper thumbnail of Radicalization or Reaction: Understanding Engagement in Violent Extremism in Northern Ireland

Political Psychology, Sep 15, 2019

The authors would also like to thank all of the researchers who were involved in collecting the d... more The authors would also like to thank all of the researchers who were involved in collecting the data presented in this article, including Mark Burgess, Ian Hollywood etc, etc. Radicalization or Reaction 2 Radicalization or Reaction: Understanding Engagement in Violent Extremism in Northern Ireland Since the terror attacks on 9/11 and the bombings on the train and underground networks in Madrid and London in 2004 and 2005 respectively, there has been a major growth in research exploring the routes in violent extremism or terrorism and the mechanisms which lead to individuals and groups to committing these acts, while the recent rise of Islamic State (ISIS) and the recent terror attacks across Europe, Canada, the US and elsewhere have renewed policy interest in these processes and further accelerated research in this area (Jasko, LaFree & Kruganski, 2016). While there are clear developments in the field and, in particular in the design of models or pathways exploring radicalization (for example, McCauley &

Research paper thumbnail of 6. Ulster Loyalist Accounts of Armed Mobilization, Demobilization, and Decommissioning

Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Dec 31, 2017

A section of the population here tried to overthrow the state by force of arms, and the British g... more A section of the population here tried to overthrow the state by force of arms, and the British government, after the fall of Stormont, failed in their fundamental right, or the fundamental thing for them was to protect life and to me they failed in that. I could have easily got involved with the RUC, because, I mean, I wasn't involved in any criminal activity before I joined the Ulster Volunteer Force, but I felt that we had been let down by our government, who had handcuffed the security forces with their policy of appeasement and restraint rather than the same sort of policy they used in the conflict in the Falklands. If they had had the same attitude towards republicans, I don't think it would have been a war. I think it would have been a conflict that could have been put down in a couple of years.

Research paper thumbnail of Former prisoners and societal reconstruction

Manchester University Press eBooks, Jul 19, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of List of abbreviations

Manchester University Press eBooks, Jul 19, 2013

Research paper thumbnail of Action Before Ideology': Understanding the role of age andknowledge in the 'Troubles in Northern Ireland/Ireland’

... Shirlow, Peter, McAuley, James W., Tonge, Jonathan and McGlynn, Catherine (2008) Action Befor... more ... Shirlow, Peter, McAuley, James W., Tonge, Jonathan and McGlynn, Catherine (2008) Action Before Ideology': Understanding the role of age and knowledge in the 'Troubles in Northern Ireland/Ireland'. In: Youth Radicalisation ...

Research paper thumbnail of One Day in July: Blood, Thunder and Street Politics in Belfast

The Orange Order is a large and complex voluntary, communal organisation. While it once claimed a... more The Orange Order is a large and complex voluntary, communal organisation. While it once claimed a membership of up to 120,000 (one in three of all Protestant males in Northern Ireland) the current strength of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland (GOLI) is estimated at somewhere around forty thousand members. Nonetheless, for many Protestants the Order continues to offer a central focus for social life, and although its political and religious importance has declined in recent years it still retains an important influence in those ...

Research paper thumbnail of Ulster loyalism, memory and commemoration

Manchester University Press eBooks, Feb 14, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of The Democratic Unionist Party: From Protest to Power

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has moved from a religion-dominated protest party to a pragma... more The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has moved from a religion-dominated protest party to a pragmatic party of government in Northern Ireland, the most popular in the region, with more votes, Assembly seats, and MPs than any of its rivals. This book draws upon the first-ever survey of the party's members, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, along with over one hundred interviews, to analyse their views on the transformation undergone by the DUP. The book analyses what categories of individual make up the DUP, ranging from religious fundamentalists or moderates, detailing the religious composition of the party. How Free Presbyterian or Orange is the modern DUP and how is its membership changing? What identity do those members hold?