Rebel's dilemma: The changing relationship between the IRA, Sinn Féin and paramilitary vigilantism in Northern Ireland (original) (raw)
Related papers
War Without End: IRA and Loyalist Vigilantism in Northern Ireland.
2000
Paramilitary vigilantism in Northern Ireland has increased dramatically in the wake of the 1994 cease-fires, and is increasingly threatening to destabilise the peace process. Yet despite the long history of vigilantism in Northern Ireland and the unprecedented attention the activity is now attracting, virtually no empirical research has been carried out on the topic. This paper reports findings from a study made of 213 IRA and 132 loyalist vigilante incidents which occurred between 1994 and 1996. The aim of the study was to provide hitherto unavailable demographic information on the vigilantism. Results also show that there are clear differences between IRA and loyalist vigilantism and that the nature of vigilantism is changing over time. The main conclusion is that there is a worrying lack of even basic knowledge about the vigilantism at a time when its importance is increasing dramatically. The findings are discussed in relation to the current situation in Northern Ireland.
The Lords of Discipline: The Methods and Motives of Paramilitary Vigilantism in Northern Ireland
1998
Paramilitary groups in Northern lreland have been involved in vigilantism since the earliest years of the Troubles. With the onset of the terrorist cease-fires in 1994, vigilante attacks dramatically increased in both frequency and severity. Showing no signs of diminishing, the vigilantism has now become one of the most sensitive and critical issues in the continuing peace process. This paper presents a detailed analysis of paramilitary vigilantism, describing first the diverse range of activities which the practice incorporates. More importantly, the paper also focuses on the complex forces and motivations which lie behind the paramilitaries' commitment to the vigilante role. The paper concludes with an assessment of the impact of the vigilantism on current developments in Northern lreland.
War without end: Comparing IRA and loyalist vigilantism in Northern Ireland
The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 2000
Abstract: Paramilitary vigilantism in Northern Ireland has increased dramatically in the wake of the 1994 cease-fires, and is increasingly threatening to destabilise the peace process. Yet despite the long history of vigilantism in Northern Ireland and the unprecedented attention ...
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2009
This article explores the Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) decision in May 2007 to abandon its campaign of “armed resistance” and pursue “a non-military, civilianized, role” in Northern Ireland. It does so by analyzing the UVF's actions in light of the academic literature on strategic terrorism. The central argument advanced in the article is that the UVF's decision to put its weapons “beyond reach” and re-structure its organization along civilian lines is (a) internally consistent with its stated policy of countering “violent nationalism,” (b) symptomatic of the transformation in the sociopolitical context since the 1994 paramilitary cease-fires, and (c) the logical outworking of the group's lack of popular legitimacy among its core Protestant working-class support-base. The article concludes with an assessment of the risks and possible dividends that the end of UVF terrorism holds for the Northern Ireland peace process.
2000
Paramilitary involvement in vigilantism continues to be a significant problem in cease-fire Northern lreland. This paper examines how the vigilantism has been perceived by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) both at an fficial level and unfficial level. The paper outlines the role the RUC played in the development of organised vigilante systems within many areas of the Province. Wile the paper recognises that the RUC were operating - and continue to operate - in highly difficult circumstances, avoidable errors were made in how to respond to the alternative justice system. It is argued that a number of RUC practices and policies ultimately worked to reinforce and legitimise the vigilantism within certain communities, while other policies which could have undermined the paramilitaries' alternative justice systems were not implemented. The article focuses on the lessons which can be taken from the RUC's experience and considers too, the current situationfacing the force in Northern lreland as they attempt to restore normal policing.
See No Evil, Hear No Evil'. Insidious Paramilitary Violence in Northern Ireland
British Journal of Criminology, 2002
Northern Ireland has been variously described as having an 'imperfect peace' in which 'acceptable levels of violence' persist. Despite the endorsement of the main political parties to the principles of 'democracy and non-violence' enshrined in the Belfast Agreement, an insidious and brutalizing form of paramilitary violence continues within communities. The government has opted to 'see no evil, hear no evil' given what is at stake in the wider political process. According to this approach, one must accept certain violent excesses in the interest of moving forward politically. This, however, creates both conceptual and practical problems around the issue of violence in Northern Ireland. By conceding that paramilitaries 'police' the informal criminal justice system in their areas with political and, in most cases, legal impunity, the government, de facto, defines what is 'an acceptable level of violence'. This paper considers the nature and extent of ongoing paramilitary violence, how it has become enmeshed in the negotiated settlement and the consequences of this politicization of violence. Northern Ireland is synonymous with the word violence, having the unenviable record of some 3,600 deaths as a direct result of the political conflict since 1969. 1 Its worst terrorist atrocity, the Omagh bomb (15 August 1998), in which 29 people died and 220 were injured came only months after referenda in which the people of Ireland (north and south) endorsed the outcome of the multi-party talks on a political settlement. The republican and loyalist ceasefires , the Belfast Agreement and devolved government in Stormont have created circumstances where sectarian killings and bombings are declining. In 1999, for example, seven civilians were murdered, the lowest figure since the 'troubles' began, and the first year ever that no security force personnel were killed (RUC statistics: Northern Ireland Office 2000). Northern Ireland is, tentatively, in a period of transition to a post-conflict era. Such confidence in the new political and constitutional dispensation was buoyed up by statements from Gerry Adams who said 'Sinn Féin believes the violence we have seen must be for all of us now a thing of the past, over with and gone' (Sinn Féin statement, 1 September 1998). Whilst this did not amount to Unionist demands for a declaration that 'the war is over' or show any remorse 164
The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 2012
This article presents an examination of the capacity for existing Loyalist paramilitary structures and actors to engage with 'far right' wing action-based and value-based extremism. The author argues that Northern Ireland faces a similar threat posed by far right groups as the rest of the United Kingdom and that utilising a strategic theory approach reveals a number of possible responses to the threat posed by far right extremism.
Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 2018
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.
‘They Haven't Gone Away, You Know’. Irish Republican ‘Dissidents’ and ‘Armed Struggle’
Terrorism and Political Violence, 2004
The shift by the Provisional republican movement towards constitutional politics in Northern Ireland has caused splits among republicans. The formation of the Continuity and Real IRAs, pledged to continue 'armed struggle' against British rule in Northern Ireland, was predictable, given the historical propensity of republicans to divide amid claims of 'betrayal' by the leadership. The odds against militarist republican 'dissidents' appear overwhelming, as they lack weapons, members and support. Sinn Fein has carried most of the nationalist constituency on its transition towards constitutionalism and the Irish Republic has abandoned its claim to Northern Ireland. Nonetheless, continued political uncertainty over the Province's political future has contributed to the maintenance of a long-standing militaristic tradition within Irish republicanism.