Republican Organization Research Articles

Concepts of Unification and Cooperation between the Autonomous Region of Krajina and the Serbian Autonomous District of Krajina in 1991 and 1992

The authors of this paper analyze the relationship between the two regions from their unilateral declarations until the second half of 1992. The Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina (later the Republic of Serbian Krajina) in Croatia and the Autonomous Region of Krajina (ARK) in the northwestern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina were the first, as formal-legal successors of municipal communities, to be unilaterally formed autonomous regions based on ethnic principles in the process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Both were proclaimed by unilateral decisions of the republican organizations of the Serbian Democratic Party (SDS) both in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina before Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. Immediately after these declarations, politicians from both Krajinas analyzed and publicly presented their views on the future status of the newly formed regions. One of the options was the unification of these two regions into one administrative unit or state, with the most prominent advocates being the leading politicians from both regions. In order to justify the formation of such an administrative unit, reports were published on the necessity of its formation as a separate entity within the “fragmented Yugoslavia” or Greater Serbian state. However, the question arose of how much such unification would diminish the influence of SDS political leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina and who would actually be the new national leader among the Serbs west of the Drina River? This question, as it turned out, burdened the entire relationship between the political and military leadership in both the Republic of Srpska (RS) and the Republic of Serbian Krajina (RSK) in various phases of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Despite disagreements and different positions on the unification of the two Krajinas and the question of their status, political and military cooperation was unquestionable in the first two years of aggression against the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cooperation was particularly intense in the second half of 1992 when the 1st and 2nd Krajina Corps of the Army of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina/Army of the Republic of Srpska, in cooperation with the police structures of the RSK and the Serbian Army of Krajina (SAK), were jointly tasked with implementing the Six Strategic Goals of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina/Republic of Srpska. This cooperation was particularly evident in the “battle for establishing the corridor” between Krajina and Semberija as the Second Strategic Goal, or joint action in Operation “Corridor '92”. In this paper, we will analyze the period from the end of 1990 and the first half of 1991 when the unilateral declarations of the Serbian Autonomous Region of Krajina and the Community of Municipalities of Bosnian Krajina (ZOBK), later ARK, occurred, until September 1992 when the decision was made to cease the existence of autonomous regions in the RS. This is the period when mass atrocities were committed against Bosniak and Croatian civilian populations in the RSK and RS. In the second half of 1991, the Bosnian Krajina was a direct war zone from which units of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) carried out aggressive operations against Croatia, and in 1992, it became a symbol of crimes against civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Areas under Serbian control became “ethnically cleansed”, and Bihać, as a city under continuous military action from the RS and RSK military forces, became one of the symbols of the siege. The question arises as to whether the strategic goals of the RS could have been realized if the two Krajinas had not closely cooperated? This is precisely one of the questions we will answer. In order to answer such and similar questions, an analysis of the role of military and police structures of both regions is necessary, both in crimes and in military operations in the Bihać region.

Reconstruction Politics in a Deep South State: Alabama, 1865–1874

In this fine political history, William Warren Rogers Jr. contributes to our understanding of Reconstruction in Alabama. While it is not a full history of Reconstruction in the Cotton State, the book expertly explains how the struggle over political power animated the era. “Reconstruction shook Alabama to its core” (p. 3). The defeat of the Confederacy resulted in revolutionary change in Alabama politics, especially with the end of slavery. Rogers rightly places race and the struggle for civil rights at the center of his study. He deftly interweaves the issues of race into a deep analysis of other matters such as economics, education, and partisanship. The reader finds inspirational stories of success and achievement as well as the bitter fruits of disappointment and failure as African Americans experienced the realities of freedom and political power in the postwar period. While race is the central focus, the plot is the story of the Republican party in Alabama. A coalition of white Alabamians, African Americans, and northern transplants, the state's Republican party emerged in large part because of the refusal of Democrats to accept the push for racial equality. Democratic stubbornness led those whites who wanted to move forward on other issues (such as railroads and economic development) to join the freedmen and radicals who also sought civil rights and equality. Thus, the Republican organization was tenuous and subject to division from the outset. Meanwhile, Democratic resistance to Reconstruction only solidified and grew more powerful. Rogers does well showing the players involved, whatever side they were on.

Parliamentarism as a phenomenon and category of modern constitutional law

The conceptual problems of the formation of the national doctrine of parliamentarism are highlighted. Stating the fact that the most multifaceted and complex problem is the establishment of representative democracy in Ukraine and the optimal form of organization of state power, it is proposed to strengthen the doctrinal foundations of modern parliamentarism in the national constitutional science and education. Analyzing the complex of essential and substantive characteristics of parliamentarism as a phenomenon of modern constitutional law, promising directions for the development of the doctrine of parliamentary law and process are determined. The synergistic relationship between the theory of modern parliamentarism, the principles of representative democracy and the fundamental institutions of the constitutional system is shown. It is proved that parliamentarism as a socio-political phenomenon is one of the most important achievements of civilization. Parliamentarism is directly related to the recognition and realization of the values and principles of constitutionalism and people’s sovereignty, the priority of human rights, the constitution of institutions of representative democracy and the idea of parliamentary supremacy in the system of public authorities. It is argued that in order for parliamentarism to function eff ectively, effi ciently and effectively, it is necessary not only to form but also consistently implement a system of legal principles and norms, functionally teleologically oriented and structurally defined and designed for its material and procedural support. This task is assigned primarily to constitutional law as a fundamental branch of national law, substantively formalized and functionally implemented in one of its subsectors, which is traditionally parliamentary law, which, in turn, is rightly considered the legal basis of parliamentarism. It is stated that parliamentarism is not an attribute, criterion or result of a purely parliamentary form of government. As a result of democratic organization of sociopolitical life, a form of realization of the principles of people’s sovereignty, democracy, separation of powers and rule of law, political and ideological pluralism, parliamentarism in the synergistic unity of its axiological, ontological, functionalteleological, institutional and other components. (so-called parliamentary-presidential or presidential-parliamentary), and the presidential form of republican organization of the state, as well as parliamentary or dual monarchies. Given this, parliamentarism is a unique phenomenon and a universal phenomenon in the system of modern constitutionalism and democratic statehood, inherent in various forms of government. The author draws attention to the civilizational and historical context of parliamentarism. Understanding both the historical and modern experience of the organization and activities of state power, its interaction with civil society, through the prism of a civilizational approach allows us to understand the prospects of parliamentarism in Ukraine in the distant future. Without exaggeration, the civilizational approach allows us to understand the meaning of the national experience of parliamentarism and compare it with the experience of democratic reforms in the West, where parliamentarism has long been a stable civilizational tradition. Key words: parliamentarism, parliament, democracy, state, political regime, popular representation

Virtual Citizenship and Revolutionary Transatlantic Republicanism in the Musical Lives of Exiled United Irishmen

Virtual Citizenship and Revolutionary Transatlantic Republicanism in the Musical Lives of Exiled United Irishmen

Teenagers and young adults in dissident Irish republicanism: a case study of Na Fianna Éireann in Dublin

ABSTRACT On 18 April 2019, by-stander Lyra McKee was killed while a group of teenagers and young men rioted against the PSNI in the Northern Irish city of Derry. During these riots, two masked gunmen of the “New IRA” fired up to ten shots at three PSNI Land Rovers. The recruitment of teenagers into the ranks of dissident Irish republicans has raised concern that a new generation of young adults born after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement is prepared to continue acts of political violence in Ireland. This article will examine the motivations and ideology of teenagers and young adults in dissident Irish republican organisations. It is based on a series of in-depth interviews with members of the dissident republican youth organisation Na Fianna Éireann in the Dublin region. The interview data show four broad motivational factors for teenagers and young adults to join the republican youth organisation, Na Fianna Éireann, in the Republic of Ireland. These four are: First, working-class background, with its related deprivation and social problems (such as criminality and drug addiction); second, the importance of family links and social networks; third, social media as an introduction to republicanism; and, fourth, fascination with Irish history.

Мониторинг аварий с экспозицией крови у медицинских работников Республики Татарстан

Healthcare personnel are most at risk than any other profession regarding blood-borne infections due to their nature of work. The purpose is to determine the frequency and structure of accidents with blood exposure among the personnel of surgical and operating departments of two republican medical organizations in Kazan; to analyze the level of post-vaccination immunity to viral hepatitis B. Material and methods. We analyzed the data of accidents with blood exposure from registers in 2016–2018. The total amount of investigated medical personnel was 1673: doctors — 465, nurses — 1009 and nurse aids — 199. The personnel (n = 1474) was questioned about the accidents with blood exposure. Selective serological examination of 197 medical personnel for viral hepatitis B antibodies was conducted using the ELISA method (certified commercial test systems manufactured by Vektor-Best CJSC). Results. The frequency of accidents with blood exposure ranged from 7,4 to 10,5 per 1000 medical personnel. Nurses were exposed to blood-borne infections more frequently than other professions. The largest number of accidents with blood exposure is registered during surgical interventions. Most accidents with blood exposure are related to punctures (pricks) with injection and suture needles. However, according to the survey results, every third employee noted accidents with blood exposure over the past 5 years. Medical workers explain the lack of proper registration by fear of punishment and confidence in the post-vaccination immunity to the hepatitis B virus. Nevertheless, according to the serological monitoring results, 49,7% of medical personnel do not have the protective titer. Conclusion. Medical organizations should implement effective systems for monitoring and training medical personnel on epidemiological safety issues.

Land purchase and radicalisation in county Galway, c. 1881–1931

ABSTRACTLand purchase in Ireland is often regarded by historians as resulting in the pacification and de-politicisation of formerly unsettled local communities. This conclusion may be premature given that we do not yet know the details of how land purchase was actually implemented at the local level, and why, and with what consequences. By exploring the way in which land purchase was conducted in a single community, this article suggests that the United Irish League, a major influence on the actual operation of land purchase, often contradicted its own constitution by allocating additional grazing land to large farmers and shopkeepers rather than to poor small farmers or the landless. As a result, alternative tenant movements were established to defend small farmer’ rights – like the Galway Secret Society – and these sometimes became the basis for subsequent Republican organisations including Sinn Fein. Far from bringing peace, land reform – as overseen by the United Irish League – actually generated greater conflict within local communities and may have provided the impetus for violent Republicanism in some communities.

LOGISTIC ACTIVITIES IN BELARUS: TRENDS AND CHALLENGES

Main results of investigations on logistics activities in the Republic of Belarus at year-end 2016 are presented in the paper. The paper identifies and analyzes basic components of this activity on the basis of economic evaluation of indices presented in annual State statistical reporting on logistics and transport and freight forwarding activities of the Republican organizations according to form 1-logistics (Mintrans – Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus), a report of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Belarus on the results of the implementation of Republican Program for development of logistics systems and transit potential of the Republic of Belarus for the period of 2016–2020, World Bank reports on logistics performance index, some indices of logistics infrastructure position and also results of electronic questionnaire of the largest logistics centers of the Republic of Belarus. Methods of comparative analysis, generalization and economic analysis have been used in the process of research. The analysis has shown that a network of logistics centers with various specialization and forms of property are located and operating in all regions of the Republic of Belarus. Most of them are situated in the Minsk region near the II and IX trans-European transport corridors and in the Brest region near the border with Poland. Structure of the logistics centers includes temporary storage warehouses, customs warehouses, warehouses for general use, container terminals, car parking, customs clearance office, and automotive, railway and other cargo transport facilities. Indices of logistics activity in the Republic of Belarus demonstrate its development in 2016. Storage space of logistics centers and main financial and volumetric indices of logistics activity which are included in the State statistical reporting have been increased during in recent times. These facts testify to the demand for logistics capacity of the Republic of Belarus and its efficient economic and infrastructure development.

The formation of terrorist groups: an analysis of Irish republican organizations

AbstractWe examine the history of the organization of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and assess whether Republican terrorism reflected the possession of valuable group-specific human capital within the terrorist cell. The analysis is motivated by economic models of the formation of specialized groups. We also note the public-goods co-ordination problem facing terrorist groups, given their inability to use mainstream enforcement mechanisms. Of particular interest are four well-defined historical examples of factionalism within the IRA. The history of Irish republicanism is consistent with the prediction that increasing the opportunities for cell members outside of life in the organization, particularly through amnesty, destabilizes the organization but leaves a hardcore of remaining terrorists. The gap between terrorist characteristics and those belonging to members of wider society is more gradated than predicted.

Andrew Curtin and the Politics of Union

This paper looks at Pennsylvania politics during the Civil War, focusing on Governor Andrew Curtin. Although commonly referred to as a Republican, Curtin never campaigned at the head of a statewide Republican ticket in Pennsylvania. Instead he ran in 1860 for the People's Party and in 1863 for the Union Party. Examining Curtin’s elections and record allows two core arguments about Unionism to be made: one about Union parties as a substantive political movement; and the other about Unionism as a meaningful political ideology undergirding those parties, and embodied in Curtin’s policies and principles. Historians have generally overlooked Union parties, and emphasized the survival of the two-party system in the wartime North. This close study of Pennsylvania politics demonstrates the need to recognize the fluidity of party labels and ideology, and to understand the significance of the Union Parties that emerged between the traditional Democratic and Republican organizations.

Imagining a Greater Germany: Republican Nationalism and the Idea of Anschluss by Erin R. Hochman

Reviewed by: Imagining a Greater Germany: Republican Nationalism and the Idea of Anschluss by Erin R. Hochman Matthew P. Berg Imagining a Greater Germany: Republican Nationalism and the Idea of Anschluss. By Erin R. Hochman. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2016. Pp. xii + 273. Cloth $49.95. ISBN 978-1501704444 German nationalism and the Anschluss have not wanted for scholarly attention since 1945. During the initial postwar decades, historians concerned themselves with diplomats and other elite-level actors, and examined conservative and radical right-wing positions. Subsequent researchers, whose work integrated the methods of social and cultural history, expanded our understanding, but invariably concentrated on developments exclusively within either Germany or Austria. Erin Hochman's book breaks new ground with its focus on republican commitment to the großdeutsche cause within both states: "republican appeals to a transborder German national community," she argues, "must be taken seriously in order to grasp the complicated blend of republican, ethnic, cultural, and internationalist ideas that lay at the heart of their nationalism" (13). Hochman draws on an impressive range of German and Austrian archival sources to support this assertion, and brings fresh perspective to published documents that historians have consulted previously. The book comprises six thematic chapters, and each treats German and Austrian developments. At heart, Hochman explains, Republicans sought to popularize democracy by asserting a version of inclusive nationalism that countered the racist, violent, and exclusionary alldeutsche convictions prevalent on the political Right (3). They did so through newspaper and journal articles intended for popular consumption, attempts to create republican symbols around which citizens could rally, and by staging holidays and commemorative moments that brought participants in republican organizations and the broader public together. While she reminds us that republican, großdeutscher nationalism—rooted in the traditions of anti-Napoleonic resistance, mid-nineteenth-century revolutionary sentiment, and republican enthusiasm in November 1918—was not without its own chauvinistic elements (4, 23), its proponents asserted overwhelmingly that Jews and other minorities whom the Right considered "alien" should be considered members of the German community. Moreover, unlike the Right's tendency to imagine that Anschluss would be accomplished [End Page 667] through aggressive revanchism, Republicans understood the union of German and Austria as the fulfillment of self-determination and as a meaningful guarantee of peace after World War I. Hochman examines republican sentiment through a series of frames that she juxtaposes with right-wing positions. Her first chapter examines concepts of nationhood and democracy, and rhetorical strategies associated with them. Here she concentrates on elites—primarily politicians, journalists, and legal experts who represented republican nationalism as spokespeople and as active members of the Österreichisch-Deutschen Volksbund, including Wilhelm Marx, Paul Löbe, Karl Renner, and Julius Deutsch. Her chapter on the importance of the black-red-gold flag versus the imperial colors in Germany and the struggle over lyrics for the new Austrian anthem links debates on nationhood with symbols that republican nationalists invested with significance. One example: Republicans in Germany asserted that the new flag had its historical roots in the 1848 revolution, the very first pan-German movement. Austrian Republicans—for the most part those in the Social Democratic Workers' Party (SDAPÖ) camp—flew the black-red-gold flag at their own events, alongside the party banner. At virtually every turn, Republicans in both states countered assertions that they were antinational and were un-German with the argument that they were in fact better Germans. They had consistently placed the national interest ahead of narrow, selfish dynastic considerations (21–22). While mindful of elite influences, Hochman is attentive to ordinary citizens' roles in investing symbols with meaning. Certainly, popular attitudes can be more challenging to determine, but she employs police observations of mass gatherings and newspaper reports to effectively demonstrate examples of consistent popular engagement on behalf of republican principles. One unique example is the case of the Viennese schoolteacher Louise Pibus, who collected almost 350 signatures in an ultimately abortive attempt to call the attention of federal parliamentary deputies to the anthem debate (74–77). More consistent evidence of popular enthusiasm for republican celebrations emerges in Hochman's investigation into visits to Germany made by Schutzbund representatives and Reichsbanner participation at...

Cumann na mBan & Women in Irish Republican Paramilitary Organisations, 1969-1986

1. Introduction The year 2014 marked centenary of founding Cumann na mBan, Irish Republican women's organisation. On April 5, 1914, over 100 women attended a meeting of what was to become Cumann na mBan in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin, presided over by Agnes O'Farrelly. The formation of a Republican women's organisation succeeded founding of male-only Irish Volunteers. The organisation played an active role during 1916 rising, although it had split less than two years earlier into pro- and anti-Redmond factions. (1) Since members of Cumann na mBan were not allowed to carry weapons, some of their activists joined ranks of James Connolly's Irish Citizen Army to take an active part in fighting. The group reorganised following Rising, establishing hundreds of branches in all 32 Counties of Ireland as well as abroad. Nonetheless, during Treaty debates, Cumann na mBan split again. Thereupon, end of civil war marks beginning of a weakening of organisation. A few years later, again, a significant section followed Constance Markievicz and Eamonn de Valera into 1926-formed Fianna Fail party (Conlon1969; Matthews 2010 & 2012; McCarthy 2007; Ni Chathmhaoil and Reinisch 2014; Ward 1983: 119-247). While first decade of its existence was most active and most influential in history of Cumann na mBan, organisation continued to play a significant role in Republican Movement in later decades. Regardless of their activism in Republican Movement, official commemorations marking centenary of Cumann na mBan neglect existence of women's organisation in these later decades. Indeed unsurprisingly, Mary McAuliffe's memorial address at Glasnevin Cemetery ends with decline of Cumann na mBan in 1923. (2) Additionally, it has been claimed that Cumann na mBan ceased to exist during 1970s and 1980s. This claim was first raised in an Irish News article back in 1993 and was subsequently strongly opposed by Cumann na mBan at that time. (Ni Chathmhaoil and Reinisch 2014: 102f.) It was repeated in a report about Cumann na mBan centenary event in paper An Phoblacht/Republican News in April 2014. (3) * * Certainly, only few researchers acknowledge contribution by Cumann na mBan to Republican Movement during recent conflict in North of Ireland. One of these is Theresa O'Keefe. In a recently published study on Republican feminism, she argues: Nonetheless, over years Cumann na mBan had become an autonomous body, adopting its own constitution and engaging in its own military activities. There remained, however, a high level of cooperation between Cumann na mBan and [Irish Republican] Army. Often they worked on same assignment under direction of leadership of IRA (O'Keefe 2013: 92). While O'Keefe's study is an important contribution to Republican women's activism and Republican feminism in North of Ireland, it provides little data on Cumann na mBan itself. In light of this, my article will go further and provide additional data collected through extensive interviews with former and current activists of Cumann na mBan. These data will provide students of contemporary Irish and British history with a clear understanding of who women were that formed Cumann na mBan during so-called Troubles. The conflict in North of Ireland is not only longest war waged in Western hemisphere since 1945 but, according to John Whyte, region is the most heavily researched area on earth (1991: viii). Although this may be true, Republican women have long been neglected by researchers. As a result, Cumann na mBan during this period is largely missing from literature and most of books and articles on recent Irish Republican organisations have not dealt with Cumann n mBan in any depth at all. Contrary, for many years, role played by women in Irish politics and, in particular, Cumann na mBan was neglected. …

Place, Dialect, and Broadcasting in Irish: Plus ça change …

Place, Dialect, and Broadcasting in Irish:Plus ça change … Jerry White (bio) In the Gaeltacht, as elsewhere in rural Ireland after the nadir of despair in the 1950s, the 1960s saw the first serious challenge offered to the defeatism and fatalism of a century. A group of articulate young radicals suddenly found its voice and began demanding policies to arrest the dissolution of and disappearance of its own community. These Gaeltacht radicals were generally well educated, and like similar groups in Northern Ireland, were part of the global dynamics of youth politics and civil rights movements of the late 1960s. The new movement brought results. (Ó Tuathaigh 113) One of the strangest paradoxes of post–World War II Irish history is that one of its least-discussed struggles is also one that was heavily invested in mass media, especially broadcast media. I refer here to Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta, also known as the Gaeltacht civil-rights movement. My experience is that it is entirely left out of most general histories of postindependence Ireland. To take but one illustrative example, the Oxford Companion to Irish History does not mention it at all, and while Nicholas Williams’s very short entry for “Gaeltacht” tells us that “native governments have given the Gaeltacht preferential treatment,” the words “gluaiseacht,” “movement,” or “civil rights” do not appear (Connolly 216). That same tome has an entry for “civil rights,” but Paul Ferguson discusses only the North and treats the term as synonymous with that region in the 1960s and 1970s (94). One of the few exceptions is indicated by this article’s epigraph, which is from Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh’s contribution to Joe Lee’s 1979 book Ireland, 1945–1970. It can scarcely be a coincidence that this was given as part of the Thomas Davis Lectures, a series of public talks broadcast on Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ; or Radio Éireann at first—the lectures began as far back as 1953). [End Page 113] Why, then, have the civil-rights struggles connected to Irish been so heavily invested in mass media? Part of this is fairly intuitive. Spoken language is the purview of broadcast media, and thus it is no surprise that groups like Conradh na Gaeilge would protest against RTÉ as aggressively as they did in the 1970s and 1980s, when a number of their activists (as well as elected officials from Údarás na Gaeltachta) went to jail for refusing to pay their television-license fees in protest against the lack of Irish on the national broadcaster.1 However, there is a fairly radical difference between what activists connected to groups such as Conradh were seeking and the goals of Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta. The reasons for this are to be found in the suffixes. Conradh na Gaeilge was a nationwide group (in an all-island sense) devoted to the promotion and preservation of the Irish language, known as Gaeilge in Irish. Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta, on the other hand, was a movement devoted to supporting and sustaining a specific set of communities, one with a very precise legal definition set out in the legislation of the Republic of Ireland. Desmond Fennell, the journalist and political philosopher whose articles and pamphlets formed a kind of intellectual backbone for Gluaiseacht, summed up this basic difference between their movement and more nationally oriented ones years later in his 1985 book Beyond Nationalism: “To their emphasis on teanga (language) we opposed our emphasis on pobal (people or community), maintaining that the language would look after itself if the communities which actually spoke it were stabilised through self-government” (141). Localism was the real goal of Gluaiseacht, and it was the real goal of their broadcast-related campaigns as well. The biggest political success of this localist struggle was the establishment of Raidió na Gaeltachta in 1972. That campaign speaks to the intellectual and political complexity of a certain idea of the Gaeltacht, an idea whose complexity remains strangely absent from mainstream discussions of Irish culture. It speaks to the degree to which Gluaiseacht Chearta Sibhialta na Gaeltachta was a genuinely republican organization—republican in a sense of which commentators about Ireland are...

Nixon’s Southern Strategy Rebuffed: Senator Marlow W. Cook and the Defeat of Judge G. Harrold Carswell for the U.S. Supreme Court

Nixon’s Southern Strategy Rebuffed: Senator Marlow W. Cook and the Defeat of Judge G. Harrold Carswell for the U.S. Supreme Court John Paul Hill (bio) When President Richard M. Nixon nominated G. Harrold Carswell, a judge on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, to the U.S. Supreme Court on January 19, 1970, the administration—and many political observers—believed that the judge would have little difficulty gaining confirmation in the U.S. Senate. After all, Nixon’s first choice for that seat, Judge Clement Haynsworth of South Carolina, had been voted down by the Senate by a 55–45 margin, and no president had witnessed the rejection of two consecutive Supreme Court nominees since Grover Cleveland in 1894.1 Moreover, on paper Carswell appeared to be an especially attractive candidate. Not only [End Page 613] was he a conservative—the type of judge that Nixon had promised to appoint while running for president in 1968—but he was also a southerner by birth (Georgia) and residence (Florida). Thus, his elevation to the high court promised to enhance Nixon’s “southern strategy” of currying favor with the white South.2 Besides, even if the Senate’s liberal bloc objected to his conservatism, Carswell’s lengthy legal résumé would, on the surface, still make him a convincing choice for the court. Before his confirmation to the court of appeals in June 1969, the fifty-year-old Carswell had served as a U.S. attorney for five years, 1953–58, and then as a federal judge in the Fifth Circuit District (northern Florida) for eleven, 1958–69.3 Furthermore, Carswell had easily won Senate confirmation to his most recent position within the past year. The Nixon administration assumed, therefore, that Carswell would have little trouble gaining Senate approval once again.4 Likewise, national newspapers and magazines anticipated little trouble for Carswell.5 These optimistic forecasts could not have been more off the mark, as a rash of troubles soon beset the nomination. Under pressure from Nixon to fill the vacancy quickly, the Justice Department had failed to vet Carswell thoroughly and had thus missed several embarrassing incidents from the judge’s past that immediately called into question his suitability for the Supreme Court. These episodes included Carswell’s defense of white supremacy in a speech he had made while running for the Georgia state legislature in 1948; his drafting of a [End Page 614] charter, while serving as a U.S. attorney, that created a Florida State University football booster club limited to whites only; his assistance in creating a private corporation—again during his stint as a U.S. attorney—to assume control of an all-white public golf course under court order to desegregate; and his and his wife’s purchase and sale of real estate with a racially restrictive covenant in the deed. Moreover, out-of-state attorneys, especially black lawyers, had accused Carswell of exhibiting hostility toward them in all cases related to civil rights.6 Carswell’s problems multiplied when the Ripon Society, a liberal Republican organization, and the Columbia University–based Law Students Concerned for the Court released a study showing that appellate courts had reversed 40.2 percent of Carswell’s decisions that they had reviewed during his eleven-year stint as a judge in the Fifth Circuit District, giving him the seventh highest reversal rate of the sixty-seven judges whose service in the district had overlapped his.7 This last disclosure raised genuine concerns about the judge’s competence to sit on the nation’s highest court. These damaging revelations weakened Carswell’s candidacy but did not necessarily destroy it. In fact, as the Senate’s vote on his nomination on April 8, 1970, approached, most political prognosticators believed that Carswell still had a respectable chance of winning the simple majority needed for Senate confirmation. A March 20 Washington Post survey, for example, counted forty senators in favor of Carswell’s nomination, thirty-one senators opposed, and twenty-nine undecided.8 Realizing that the nomination was in peril, the Nixon administration launched a vigorous effort to woo the undecided senators. Chief among these senators was freshman Republican Marlow...

Disputed Heroes: Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry

Disputed Heroes:Early Accounts of the Siege of Londonderry Karen A. Holland The one hundred-and-five day Siege of Londonderry in 1689, at the close of a conflict-ridden seventeenth century, was a crucial episode in the larger War of the Two Kings (1688–91) that brought Catholic forces into conflict with Protestants in Ireland. The deposed James II had arrived in Ireland in March 1689 to capitalize on the support of his fellow Catholics in an attempt to regain his crown. By the time the king began his march north, Richard Talbot, earl of Tyrconnell—whom James II had appointed lord deputy of Ireland—had established Jacobite control of all of Ireland with the exception of Londonderry and Enniskillen in Ulster. The Siege of Londonderry began in April 1689 when the combined Irish and allied French forces led by James II arrived before the city walls and demanded the surrender of the Protestant town. Instead of the expected capitulation, they were met with gunfire that killed several of the king’s bodyguards and the possibility of surrender was lost. By June, the military siege had entered a second phase with a blockade of the neighboring River Foyle in an attempt to starve the resistance into submission. It would take an English relief expedition six weeks to break the boom and, with vital supplies now reaching the city, the Siege was lifted on July 31, 1689.1 The relationship between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland was marked by a deep and enduring animosity; the relationship among the various Protestant sects on the island was likewise often rancorous. Religious tenets, politics, and ethnicity all divided the two predominant confessions in the North, the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians. Ethnically, most Presbyterians were [End Page 21] Scots colonists to Ulster. The Episcopalians were the New English immigrants to Ireland.2 The episcopal Church of Ireland was the established church. Presbyterians, who dissented on church organization and theology, were suppressed. In matters of governance, the Episcopalian church was administered by bishops, whereas the Presbyterians favored a more republican organization overseen by ministers and elders. The Puritanism of the Dissenters was also in conflict with the remnants of popery that the Presbyterians believed continued to be practiced by the Churchmen. Furthermore, both sects had fundamentally different political philosophies. Anglicans were, by and large, supporters of “divine right” monarchy that saw the ruler as a chosen representative of God. Presbyterians, on the other hand, tended to be versed in resistance theory and supported the concept of the deposition of a tyrannical monarch. Presbyterians were frequently quicker in their support of William III than the Episcopalians, who struggled intellectually with the overthrow of the hereditary monarch James II.3 Historical and literary accounts of military engagements often unanimously extol one outstanding individual as the hero of the campaign—for instance, the role of Patrick Sarsfield at the Siege of Limerick. The varying accounts of the Siege of Londonderry, however, present no clear-cut hero. 4 Four works authored in the first two decades after the Siege, in a range of literary genres, propose a variety of individuals as the hero. Two of the authors promote themselves as the heroes of the Siege: Rev. George Walker in his journal A True Account of the Siege of Londonderry (1689) and John Mitchelburne in his five-act tragicomedy Ireland Preserv’d or The Siege of Londonderry (1705). The other two texts acknowledge Colonel Adam Murray as the champion of 1689: Rev. John Mackenzie in his history A Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry (1690) and Joseph Aickin in his epic poem Londeriados or a Narrative of the Siege of Londonderry (1699), each portray Murray as the hero, though they emphasize different aspects of his personality. The conventions of the literary genre that each author purposefully selected—a journal, a drama, a narrative history, and an epic poem—require certain attributes of the hero and create certain expectations and interpretations on the part of the reader. Readers do not treat genres as interchangeable; rather, as one recent scholar of the history of reading noted, they link the text to others they have already read, signaling “the appropriate ‘pre-knowledge’ in...

Ways of Seeing ireland's green

ABSTRACTIreland has long been identified as the Green Isle. Drawing on extensive ethnographic research, this article explores the color green in Ireland in terms of visualization and marketing in relation to dress and tourist design. The focus on different ways of seeing Ireland's green reveals the color as an identity marker, highly charged politically and culturally. Starting out as a political statement of Irish identity, green became a marker to outsiders signaling Irishness. The ban on “the wearing of the green” during British colonialism reinforced the significance of green in Ireland. Green was the color of the Republican revolutionary organization, and was identified as the national color long before Ireland became an independent nation in 1922. Now green remains an indicator in outsiders' visual construction of Irishness. The extensive wearing of green on St Patrick's Day, the national day, is a continued celebration of national independence fueled by the legacy of the ban, not only in Ireland but among Irish diaspora communities across the globe. The color green is the signature color in the branding of Ireland as a tourist destination.

One Nation under God: The Religious Right and the Separation of Church and State in the United States

In the increasingly polarised debate that is American politics, religion and religious belief has garnered a significant amount of attention in recent years, particularly `on the right-wing of the political spectrum. Despite the separation of Church and State expressly laid out in the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, many Republican politicians and faith-based organisations reject the idea of a secular United States and instead assert the supremacy of Judeo-Christian values in the American political discourse. This paper seeks to examine the activities of right-wing Christian political organisations, who oppose Church/State separation and their connections to U.S. politicians, as well as the deeper causes of the Religious Right’s staunch opposition to the Establishment Clause.

Contested Election Laws: Representation, Elections, and Party Building in Pennsylvania, 1788–1794

In preparation for the 2012 presidential election, members of the Pennsylvania GOP have been considering changing the way the state awards its electoral votes. Under the current system, the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes statewide receives all twenty of the state’s votes in the Electoral College. In recent years, heavy Democratic voting in urban areas such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh has offset Republican victories in rural parts of the state. In order to build on their strength in the less-populated areas, Republicans are considering having Pennsylvania award electors based on a district method. While this approach is technically constitutional, political commentators have been quick to condemn the proposal as unethical and potentially dangerous. This is not, however, the first time a political party has attempted to change election laws to their advantage. The manipulation of election law dates back to the first elections under the Constitution.

Paramilitary punishments in Belfast: policing beneath the peace

As an enduring legacy of the conflict, paramilitary policing remains an unpalatable but indisputable fact within Belfast's working-class, Republican communities. Historically, while much attention has been devoted to the causes and consequences of paramilitarism along with the terrorist threat posed by such organizations, little attention has been paid to the influence upon, or relations between, such nonstate policing actors, the communities in which they exist and the delivery of policing by the Police Service of Northern Ireland. While local and international literature surrounding paramilitary violence has tended towards political axiom or physical impact of such activity, the current paper presents an empirical study of the relations between communities and Republican paramilitary organizations who seek to exploit a perceived dearth of state-based policing at the community level within Belfast. Framing the ontology of paramilitary policing and its support from a community, rather than political or security perspective, the paper argues that continuing grass-roots support for this ‘new’ paramilitary policing within Republican communities of Belfast is more complex and nuanced than the political antecedents of the conflict from which such activity emerged – especially in terms of such support surviving successive political negotiations and police reforms since the ‘Good Friday’ Agreement of 1998.

Damon and Pythias Reconsidered

TO STUDENTS OF PHILADELPHIA’S POLITICAL HISTORY, the names Damon and Pythias mean only one pair of politicians: Joseph Sill Clark Jr. and Richardson Dilworth, the men who inaugurated the current era of Democratic rule in Philadelphia. Although they had been politically active for nearly two decades, their names were relatively unknown in the Quaker City until Dilworth splashed onto the front pages in 1947 and declared virtual war on the rapacious Republican organization that had held sway in Philadelphia since the Civil War.