Political Violence In Northern Ireland Research Articles

A Multi-Level Analysis of Risky Streets and Neighbourhoods for Dissident Republican Violence in Belfast

This paper uses graph theoretical measures to analyse the relationship between street network usage, as well as other street- and area-level factors, and dissident Republican violence in Belfast. A multi-level statistical model is used. Specifically, we employ an observation-level random-effects (OLRE) Poisson regression and use variables at the street and area levels. Street- and area-level characteristics simultaneously influence where violent incidents occur. For every 10% change in the betweenness value of a street segment, the segment is expected to experience 1.32 times as many incidents. Police stations (IRR: 22.05), protestant churches (IRR: 6.19) and commercial premises (IRR: 1.44) on each street segment were also all found to significantly increase the expected number of attacks. At the small-area level, for every 10% change in the number of Catholic residents, the number of incidents is expected to be 4.45 times as many. The results indicate that along with other factors, the street network plays a role in shaping terrorist target selection. Streets that are more connected and more likely to be traversed will experience more incidents than those that are not. This has important practical implications for the policing of political violence in Northern Ireland generally and for shaping specific targeted interventions.

Governance and leadership in education policy making and school development in a divided society

ABSTRACT The Good Friday Agreement (1997) brought political violence in Northern Ireland to an end and provided the basis for shared government. A consociational political structure was adopted which institutionalised community differences while encouraging coalition government. The goal was that a requirement for consensus decisions would encourage cooperation between political leaders and promote effective decision-making. This paper examines the period of devolved government in Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2017 through the lens of education policy to explore leadership on these issues. The paper will examine three policy issues: a review of the effects of academic selection in post primary education; a proposal to rationalise the administrative arrangements in education; and an initiative to promote collaborative networks between separate denominational schools through ‘shared education’. The paper will conclude that, far from providing a superordinate goal around which the different political parties could coalesce, there was a lack of systemic leadership on educational debates. Inability in most cases to establish consensus resulted in policy paralysis. The one area where this did not occur was the adoption of ‘shared education’ which may have been because this initiative was a bottom-up process based on the empowerment of teachers.

Prominent need to increase the level of education and awareness in the field of terrorist activities

The relevance of the problem under study stems from the fact that the practice of terrorism is one of the main challenges of contemporary world politics, affecting various regions of our planet. In this regard, the study of this phenomenon within a particular region deserves special attention, Northern Ireland in this case. The practice of terrorism there has been a destabilising challenge almost throughout the twentieth century and is associated with unresolved interethnic and interreligious problems. The aim of the paper is to identify factors in the emergence, spread and de-escalation of political violence in Northern Ireland in a historical retrospective. The main approaches to the study of the problem in question are historical and analytical methods. The study shows the main reasons for the emergence and escalation of political violence and terrorism in Northern Ireland and indicates the main measures to find compromise in a multi-confessional and multi-ethnic society, which may be a model for the resolution of similar conflicts in other regions of the modern world. The materials of the paper can help to study the specifics of regional terrorism, to identify the main factors that allow reducing the level of social conflict, and to understand similar phenomena in other regions (the Balkan Peninsula, the Middle East, etc.). Moreover, it reveals the needs to make the awareness of the educated class of the society.

Women and political violence in Northern Ireland: newspaper imagery during the troubles

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the ways in which women engaged in acts of political violence in Northern Ireland during the Troubles were depicted by the print media. Media is often used to reinforce a particular point of view, especially during conflict, when each side wants to portray its own perspective favorably and depict the adversary as negatively as possible. This article begins with background about the Troubles and reviews some of the ways that Republican (generally Catholic) women became more involved in the struggle indirectly for example, by using gendered approaches to ‘lure’ soldiers, or directly, by engaging in acts of political violence. What is especially important are the ways in which the press depicted these women using gender stereotypes to convey a particular political point of view. The focus on the ways in which violent women were portrayed during the Troubles allows us to move beyond the notion of ‘women's invisibility’ by reminding us that women and their actions were very visible to the general public through the press, albeit in a gendered way. This analysis provides a more complete understanding of women's roles during the Troubles.

Vox Populi or abdication of responsibility?: The influence of the Irish Citizens’ Assembly on the public discourse regarding abortion, 2016-2019

The last four decades have witnessed enormous changes in the Republic of Ireland in terms of society, economy and politics. Formerly perceived as a poor, peripheral and “priest-ridden” country additionally plagued by political violence in Northern Ireland, over recent decades Irish voters have supported a series of “liberal causes”. Indeed, nowhere is this more apparent than Ireland’s laws concerning abortion, an issue which displayed a seismic shift not only among Irish voters but the political parties which claim to represent them, a shift clearly reflected in the public discourse. At the same time, it will be seen that the use of a Citizens’ Assembly as an exercise in “deliberative democracy” has allowed mainstream political parties to pass responsibility, at least partially, for changes to controversial laws to an extra-parliamentary body, thereby allowing them to claim that they were following the will of “the people” and finally settle one of the longest running conflicts in Irish political life. Thus, this article seeks to examine and describe both how effective the Irish Citizens’ Assembly was at achieving its stated goal and its influence on the nation’s public discourse concerning the issue of abortion.

Unpacking Violent Contention: The Troubles in Northern Ireland, 1968–1972

ABSTRACT This paper systematically describes the different types of political violence that occurred in Northern Ireland between 1968 and 1972, examining how they interacted and fueled each other. To measure the level of political violence in Northern Ireland, traditional quantitative approaches use variables such as the number of conflict-related deaths, paramilitary attacks, or riots; the goal of this paper, instead, is to disaggregate acts of violent contention by actor, type, and target. Relying on Quantitative Narrative Analysis (QNA), all the violent actions perpetrated by the actors participating in the conflict have been recorded, coded, and analyzed. Three main types of violence in Northern Ireland are identified: a) protest-related violence—violent interactions among protesters, counterprotesters, and police before, during, and after mass demonstrations; b) sectarian violence—includes riots and clashes between members of the two main ethno-national communities; and c) armed conflict—violent actions by paramilitary groups and security forces. While originating from different conflict situations, these three types of violence affected each other, as they altered, and were altered by, the broader political context. Conceptual and methodological disaggregation of political violence are encouraged to better understand violent conflicts.

“Tribal Trenches”: A Qualitative Critique of Consociational Design in Northern Ireland

How does consociational power sharing impact ethnic divisions in Northern Ireland? Though those in the consociationalist school would claim that the lack of active political violence in Northern Ireland is a powerful argument in favor of consociationalism; I argue that active violence has been replaced by increasing political polarization and ethno-national tensions. Using data gathered from twenty-four semi-structured interviews in Northern Ireland, this project critiques the hypothesis that ethnic divisions lose their salience after the implementation of consociational power-sharing agreements after ethno-nationalist conflict. Despite the growing literature on the long-term effects of consociationalism, scholars have largely focused on quantitative methods, overlooking qualitative approaches. By presenting an ethnographically based critique of consociationalism, I hope to approach this gap in the literature. This research was generously funded by both the Stetson University Research Experience Grant and by the Stetson Honors Program.

Beyond the irony of intergroup contact: The effects of contact and threat on political participation and support for political violence in Northern Ireland.

Beyond the irony of intergroup contact: The effects of contact and threat on political participation and support for political violence in Northern Ireland.

Shared Education in contested spaces: How collaborative networks improve communities and schools

Societies which suffer from ethnic and political divisions are often characterised by patterns of social and institutional separation, and sometimes these divisions remain even after political conflict has ended. This has occurred in Northern Ireland where there is, and remains, a long-standing pattern of parallel institutions and services for the different communities. A socially significant example lies in the education system where a parallel system of Catholic and Protestant schools has been in place since the establishment of a national school system in the 1830s. During the years of political violence in Northern Ireland a variety of educational interventions were implemented to promote reconciliation, but most of them failed to create any systemic change. This paper describes a post-conflict educational initiative known as Shared Education which aims to promote social cohesion and school improvement by encouraging sustained and regular shared learning between students and broader collaboration between teachers and school leaders from different schools. The paper examines the background to work on Shared Education, describes a ‘sharing continuum’ which emerged as an evaluation and policy tool from this work and considers evidence from a case study of a Shared Education school partnership in a divided city in Northern Ireland. The paper will conclude by highlighting some of the significant social and policy impact of the Shared Education work.

Children and Terrorism and commentaries

Children and Terrorism and commentaries

Exposure to Political Violence in Northern Ireland and Outcome of First Episode Psychosis.

The impact of political violence on individuals presenting with an episode of first episode psychosis has not been examined. Individuals were assessed for exposure to political violence in Northern Ireland (the "Troubles") by asking for a response to 2 questions: one asked about the impact of violence "on your area"; the second about the impact of violence "on you or your family's life." The participants were separated into 2 groups (highandlowimpact) for each question. Symptom profiles and rates of substance misuse were compared across the groups at baseline and at 3-year follow up. Of the 178 individuals included in the study 66 (37.1%) reported ahighimpact of the "Troubles" on their life and 81 (45.5%) ahighimpact of the "Troubles" on their area. There were no significant differences in symptom profile or rates of substance misuse betweenhighandlowgroups at presentation. At 3-year follow-uphighimpact of the "Troubles" on life was associated with higher Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS) Total (P= .01), PANSS-Positive (P< .05), and PANSS-General (P< .01) scores and lower global assessment of functioning disability (P< .05) scores, after adjusting for confounding factors. Impact of the "Troubles" on area was not associated with differences in symptom outcomes. This finding adds to the evidence that outcomes in psychosis are significantly impacted by environmental factors and suggests that greater attention should be paid to therapeutic strategies designed to address the impact of trauma.

Creating Political Oxygen to Break the Cycle of Violence 1981 – 1994: Lessons from the Northern Ireland Peace Process

This paper considers the dynamics of the process used in creating the political conditions to bring about the end of political violence in Northern Ireland in the period from the IRA Hunger Strike in 1981 to the IRA and Loyalist ceasefires in 1994. It explains some of the key concepts that were forged in the intense political back channel pre-negotiations that culminated eventually in opening the door to peace talks. It also shows the crucial role that third parties can play in building the capacity for parties to understand each other and create a peace process architecture.

Features of Posttraumatic Growth Among Victims of the Northern Irish “Troubles”

In order to examine for features of posttraumatic growth, this preliminary and exploratory study adopted a case study method with three individuals who had endured a traumatic event, as a consequence of the political violence in Northern Ireland. Most of the extant research carried on this topic has focused on the pathogenic effects that result from the conflict. Little is known about whether growth following political adversity in Northern Ireland has occurred or even likely, given the ongoing political violence, which serves as a constant reminder of what has happened before and what may still occur, regardless of the peace process. Employing Tedeschi and Calhoun’s model of growth, findings reveal that certain features of growth are evident in the domains of a greater appreciation of life and changed relationships, which has lead to new possibilities. Two of the three participants reported change in the domain of personal strength and all reported ongoing psychological distress, which served to temper the degree of growth experienced. Differences in the growth domain relating to religion and spirituality set the three cases apart. Findings may serve as a springboard for future research in this neglected area within trauma research in the Northern Irish context.

Some Things We Think We've Learned Since 9/11: A Commentary on Marc Sageman's “The Stagnation in Terrorism Research”

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes Christian Leuprecht, Todd Hataley, Sophia Moskalenko, and Clark McCauley, “Containing the Narrative: Strategy and Tactics in Countering the Storyline of Global Jihad,” Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism 5, no. 1 (2010): 42–57. Ibid. Clark McCauley and Sarah Scheckter, “What's Special About US Muslims? The War on Terrorism as Seen by Muslims in the United States, Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 31, no. 11 (2008): 1024–1031. Clark McCauley, Christian Leuprecht, Todd Hataley, Conrad Winn, and Bidisha Biswas, “Tracking the War of Ideas: A Poll of Ottawa Muslims,” Terrorism and Political Violence 23, no. 5 (2011): 804–819. George W. Bush, Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People, United States Capitol, Washington, DC, 2001, http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html 1/27/2014. Clark McCauley, “Ideas Versus Actions in Relation to Polls of US Muslims,” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy 13, no. 1 (2013): 70–76. Leuprecht et al., “Containing the Narrative” (see note 1 above). Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, “Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists: What Moves an Individual From Radical Opinion to Radical Action,” Terrorism and Political Violence 26, no. 1 (2014): 69–85. Clark McCauley and Sophia Moskalenko, Friction: How Radicalization Happens to Them and Us (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). Ibid., Chapter 9: Group Competition. John Horgan, Leaving Terrorism Behind: An Individual Perspective (Chichester: John Wiley, 2003). McCauley and Moskalenko, “Toward a Profile of Lone Wolf Terrorists” (see note 8 above). Ibid. Metin Turcan and Clark McCauley, “Boomerang: Opinion Versus Action in the Radicalization of Abu-Mulal al-Balawi,” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 3, no. 1 (2010): 14–31. Emmanuel Karagiannis and Clark McCauley, “Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami: Evaluating the Threat Posed by a Radical Islamic Group that Remains Nonviolent,” Terrorism and Political Violence 18, no. 2 (2006): 315–334. Gary LaFree, Laura Dugan, and Raven Korte, “The Impact of British Counterterrorist Strategies on Political Violence in Northern Ireland: Comparing Deterrence and Backlash Models,” Criminology 47, no. 1 (2009): 17–45. Clark McCauley, “Group Desistance from Terrorism: A Dynamic Perspective,” Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict 1, no. 3 (2008): 269–293. McCauley and Moskalenko, Friction (see note 9 above), Chapter 13: Martyrdom. Clark McCauley, Discussion Point: Introducing “Political Resilience” (College Park, MD: National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (NC-START), August 31, 2012), http://www.start.umd.edu/news/discussion-point-introducing-political-resilience. Additional informationNotes on contributorsClark McCauleyClark McCauley is a Professor of Psychology at Bryn Mawr College; Co-Director of the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict; and Editor of the journal Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict.Sophia MoskalenkoSophia Moskalenko is a Social Psychologist working on questions of radicalization at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), University of Maryland, and is also affiliated with the Solomon Asch Center for Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict.

The Prosecution of Organised Crime: Removing the Jury

Serious organised crime groups may enjoy virtual impunity through the corruption and coercion of parties involved in the criminal justice process. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, this is most evident in the intimidation of witnesses and jurors, leading to difficulties in successful prosecution of organised criminality. One notable response to this phenomenon is to hold juryless trials for serious indictable offences, mirroring a similar approach in counter-terrorism legislation arising from the political violence in Northern Ireland. Despite common rationales, such trials have been operationalised differently in these neighbouring jurisdictions: in England, Wales and Northern Ireland ‘ordinary’ legislation was introduced, whereas in Ireland juryless trials are permitted under existing counter-terrorism laws. This article reviews the problematic dimensions of both legislative schemes, and considers their application by the courts since enactment. After outlining viable alternatives, it concludes that juryless trials may be necessary in limited instances, and if so, the English model is to be preferred.

Injured and disabled casualties of the Northern Ireland conflict: issues in immediate and long-term treatment, care and support

Even though injury due to armed conflict is more commonly caused than death, research into injury due to Northern Ireland’s four decades of otherwise exhaustively documented conflict is sparse. This article reports on a 2011 study based on interviews with 30 people seriously physically injured in the conflict and 20 of their carers and a self-administered questionnaire survey of a further 90 people injured in political violence in Northern Ireland. All injured respondents reported that emergency medical emergency treatment had been excellent. Those injured in the 1970s reported low expectations of their life expectancy and rehabilitation, a lack of psychological support and lack of help with chronic injury-related conditions. More recently injured people had psychological support and were more successfully rehabilitated but those injured earlier often saw it as ‘too late’ for psychological help. Influences on well-being seem to be: changing professional standards and awareness; policies acknowledging of the effects of conflict; anti-discrimination legislation; development of rehabilitation services; and the reform of disability benefits. Inter alia, health professionals’ attitudes towards victims and their treatment of injury appear to have a significant influence on outcomes for injured people.

Associations between mothers' experience with the troubles in Northern Ireland and mothers' and children's psychological functioning: the moderating role of social identity

Relatively little research has examined the relations between growing up in a community with a history of protracted violent political conflict and subsequent generations' well-being. The current article examines relations between mothers' self-report of the impact that the historical political violence in Northern Ireland (known as the Troubles) has on her and her child's current mental health. These relations are framed within the social identity model of stress, which provides a framework for understanding coping responses within societies that have experienced intergroup conflict. Mother-child dyads (N = 695) living in Belfast completed interviews. Results suggest that the mother-reported impact of the Troubles continue to be associated with mothers' mental health, which, in turn, is associated with her child's adjustment. The strength of mothers' social identity moderated pathways between the impact of the Troubles and her mental health, consistent with the social identity model of stress.

The Experience and Psychological Impact of ‘Troubles’ related Trauma in Northern Ireland

Given the backdrop of over three decades of civil conflict, Northern Ireland presents a unique case for the examination of the epidemiology of trauma. An extensive body of literature has emerged in relation to the number of incidents experienced during the political violence in Northern Ireland. There have also been numerous studies examining the psychological impact of Troubles-related trauma among the general population and within specific communities and sub-groups. The aim of this paper is to review the existing literature on the exposure to Troubles-related trauma and the resulting psychological impact, with a focus on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, psychological well-being and coping.

In the Shadow of the Gun

Despite over fifteen years of ‘peace process,’ political violence in Northern Ireland has continued and a situation characterised as ‘not-war-not peace’ has prevailed. In the euphoria surrounding the establishment of the ‘power-sharing government’ in 2007, the media reported this event as representing the end of the ‘troubles’ or conflict. However, significant political violence has continued throughout the peace process and the heavily armed Loyalist paramilitaries, unlike the IRA, have not begun to disarm and have no intention to do so, despite this being a fundamental requirement of the peace process. They are reserving the option and are fully prepared to return to violence in response to any movement towards a united Ireland, and this ‘threat’ is growing because Catholic-nationalists will become a voting majority in the province over the next decade or so. This paper argues that there is no peace in Northern Ireland now, that the peace process has not been successfully completed, and that the prognosis for the future of the gun and political violence in Northern Ireland is not good. History and Protestant political culture strongly suggest that the most likely future scenario is a resurgence of Loyalist violence and a renewed paramilitary campaign, rather than a real and lasting peace.

Understanding Insurgency Violence: A Quantitative Analysis of the Political Violence in Northern Ireland 1969–1999

The main argument examined in this article is that the escalation of political violence in Northern Ireland between 1969–1999 resulted because of the state's reliance on repression and this had conflicting effects contributing to the rise in violence. Perhaps the most important finding reached by this research was that a state's reliance on repression is positively associated with more insurgent violence. This research suggests that variations in outcomes to the use of force by a democratic state may result because one may assume a linear model exists when in reality the true relationship maybe curvilinear.