Bitter Harvests: The Royal Ulster Constabulary's Response to Paramilitary Vigilantism in Northern lreland (original) (raw)
Related papers
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.
2000
Paramilitary vigilantism has been a feature of conflict in Northern Ireland since the earliest days of the Troubles. In that time, the vigilante campaigns have left over 115 people dead and more than 4,000 injured. Yet despite this toll, remarkably little research has been carried out on the subject. Now, in the fifth year since the 1994 cease-fires, paramilitary vigilantism has gradually emerged as one of the most critical issues in the Northern lreland peace process. This paper focuses on the impact the vigilantism has on its victims and on the wider communities. In doing so, it also addresses why the governments have hesitated to take strong action against the activity. The paper attempts a multi-layered analysis of the impact of an emotive, controversial and increasingly critical subject.
Terrorism and Political Violence, 1999
The 40‐month period which has followed the introduction of the IRA's 1994 cease‐fire has witnessed the most intensive vigilante campaign ever carried out by the movement. A commitment to vigilantism has profoundly affected the evolution of both the policy and structure of Sinn Féin and the IRA. However, vigilantism bears costs for the two organizations and several serious attempts have been made by senior figures to end the practice. This article sets out to understand and describe the dynamics of militant republicanism's fluctuating commitment to vigilante violence, and in particular to understand the complex issues vigilantism has raised within Sinn Féin and the IRA in the past three decades. The article concludes that the two organizations are now irretrievably committed to vigilantism, and short of major RUC reform, they will be unable to end what has become a politically‐damaging policy.
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.
Irish Journal of Sociology
Debates about the past in Northern Ireland still remain hotly contested, and in over twenty years since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, an agreed account of the 'truth' about events and actions during the conflict remain as polarised as ever. Yet Southern's book presents a potentially unique (and seldom told) insight into the views and experiences of a key actor in the conflict-the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and officers who served in the organisation. Yet aside from providing some very necessary police officer perspectives as part of the wider conflict narrative, the book also leaves itself open to questions around the robustness of perspective used, in many cases, to unquestionably justify the role of the RUC.
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.