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

Abstract

This chapter explores the processes involved in joining Northern Irish loyalist paramilitary groups, engaging in politically motivated violence and then as part of the wider Northern Irish Peace Process moving away from violence and playing a role in the transformation of the these armed groups as they became demilitarized and engaged in a process of decommissioning weapons. The chapter will draw on data generated by one-to-one interviews with members and former members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), Ulster Defence Association (UDA), Red Hand Commando (RHC) and the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP). The chapter will build on the social movement literature surrounding engagement in political protest and sustaining political protest, while developing the less researched area of disengagement from political movements and armed insurrection. This chapter will explore issues around collective identity, attitudinal and ideological radicalization and investigate drivers and barriers for both engagement and disengagement in political violence and protest.