The ballot bomb: Terrorism and the electoral process in northern ireland

Abstract

Why Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries intervened in elections in Northern Ireland during the 1980s to buttress their credibility is examined. The failure of Loyalist candidates to attract votes is contrasted with the success achieved by Republican candidates as a result of the 1981 hunger strike crisis. It is argued that the British public's stereotype of terrorism in Northern Ireland amplified the political impact of Sinn Fein's electoral breakthrough in 1982 and 1983. The alarm in both Britain and the Irish Republic at Sinn Fein's rise led to the Anglo‐Irish Agreement of November 1985. A decline in support for Sinn Fein followed. The party was marginalized in the Republic. While it continued to attract significant support in Catholic working‐class areas in Northern Ireland, it lost ground in the Catholic community as a whole to the constitutional nationalist party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party. The Loyalist paramilitaries were unable to translate support for their activities as paramilita...