Richard English
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265901
- eISBN:
- 9780191772047
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265901.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Within debates on how terrorism ends, political historians will want academic analysis to reflect the frequently unpredictable messiness of such processes. When terrorist groups desist, they often do ...
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Within debates on how terrorism ends, political historians will want academic analysis to reflect the frequently unpredictable messiness of such processes. When terrorist groups desist, they often do so in ways that involve violent spillage across the historical line which broadly divides conflict from peace. This chapter focuses on one significant case study in terrorist persistence: dissident Irish republican violence in the wake of the decision by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) to end its own armed struggle. I will offer a brief account of dissident republican activity, and then explain such activity by situating it within a wider hermeneutical framework of nationalism as such. The central argument will be that we can only properly understand and appropriately respond to dissident Irish republican terrorism if we interpret it as a recognisable species of nationalist zealotry, with family resemblances to many other nationalisms throughout politics and history in Ireland and elsewhere. Such an account normalises dissident republicanism and explains its (to some observers, surprising) durability; it does not ignore the non-ideological motivations and dynamics of Irish dissidents; nor does it offer any legitimising framework for such ongoing violent republicanism.Less
Within debates on how terrorism ends, political historians will want academic analysis to reflect the frequently unpredictable messiness of such processes. When terrorist groups desist, they often do so in ways that involve violent spillage across the historical line which broadly divides conflict from peace. This chapter focuses on one significant case study in terrorist persistence: dissident Irish republican violence in the wake of the decision by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) to end its own armed struggle. I will offer a brief account of dissident republican activity, and then explain such activity by situating it within a wider hermeneutical framework of nationalism as such. The central argument will be that we can only properly understand and appropriately respond to dissident Irish republican terrorism if we interpret it as a recognisable species of nationalist zealotry, with family resemblances to many other nationalisms throughout politics and history in Ireland and elsewhere. Such an account normalises dissident republicanism and explains its (to some observers, surprising) durability; it does not ignore the non-ideological motivations and dynamics of Irish dissidents; nor does it offer any legitimising framework for such ongoing violent republicanism.
Paul Bew
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199561261
- eISBN:
- 9780191701832
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199561261.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This book is an innovative interpretation of the history of Anglo–Irish relations from 1789 right to the present day. The French Revolution had an electrifying impact on Irish society, with the 1790s ...
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This book is an innovative interpretation of the history of Anglo–Irish relations from 1789 right to the present day. The French Revolution had an electrifying impact on Irish society, with the 1790s seeing the birth of modern Irish republicanism and Orangeism. This decade also saw the political integration between Ireland and the British elite, such as with Pitt and Castlereagh. The Irish, who were strongly influenced by Edmund Burke's freedom philosophies, argued that Britain's strategic interests were best served by a policy of Catholic emancipation. Britain's failure to achieve this objective — dramatised by the horrifying and tragic Irish famine of 1846–50 — set the context for the emergence of a popular mass nationalism. Eventually, the Fenian, Parnell, and Sinn Fein movements expelled the British from most of the island. This book reassesses all the key leaders of Irish nationalism, alongside key British political leaders — from Tone, Parnell and de Valera, to Haughey, Peel and Blair. It evaluates the changing ideological passions of the modern Irish question, while examining the changing economical and social worlds in London, Dublin and Belfast, all in one coherent analysis.Less
This book is an innovative interpretation of the history of Anglo–Irish relations from 1789 right to the present day. The French Revolution had an electrifying impact on Irish society, with the 1790s seeing the birth of modern Irish republicanism and Orangeism. This decade also saw the political integration between Ireland and the British elite, such as with Pitt and Castlereagh. The Irish, who were strongly influenced by Edmund Burke's freedom philosophies, argued that Britain's strategic interests were best served by a policy of Catholic emancipation. Britain's failure to achieve this objective — dramatised by the horrifying and tragic Irish famine of 1846–50 — set the context for the emergence of a popular mass nationalism. Eventually, the Fenian, Parnell, and Sinn Fein movements expelled the British from most of the island. This book reassesses all the key leaders of Irish nationalism, alongside key British political leaders — from Tone, Parnell and de Valera, to Haughey, Peel and Blair. It evaluates the changing ideological passions of the modern Irish question, while examining the changing economical and social worlds in London, Dublin and Belfast, all in one coherent analysis.
S.A. Whiting
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719095726
- eISBN:
- 9781781708767
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095726.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
By considering the evolution of republican political thought this chapter explores the basis of republican ideology and how it has been adapted and accommodated within the Irish variant of the ...
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By considering the evolution of republican political thought this chapter explores the basis of republican ideology and how it has been adapted and accommodated within the Irish variant of the tradition. Such exploration of the roots of the tradition determines how the many forms of modern Irish republicanism ‘deviate’ from supposed ideological principles, yet claim attachment to the same tradition. Discussion of republican principles highlights the fault line between purist and pragmatist interpretations of the tradition, a fault line which allows the phenomenon of dissent to emerge. For both purists and pragmatists the goal is the same yet the methodologies differ. In analysing the articulation of what constitutes the republican core, this chapter also explores the significance of historical tradition and the role of martyrdom within the republican psyche.Less
By considering the evolution of republican political thought this chapter explores the basis of republican ideology and how it has been adapted and accommodated within the Irish variant of the tradition. Such exploration of the roots of the tradition determines how the many forms of modern Irish republicanism ‘deviate’ from supposed ideological principles, yet claim attachment to the same tradition. Discussion of republican principles highlights the fault line between purist and pragmatist interpretations of the tradition, a fault line which allows the phenomenon of dissent to emerge. For both purists and pragmatists the goal is the same yet the methodologies differ. In analysing the articulation of what constitutes the republican core, this chapter also explores the significance of historical tradition and the role of martyrdom within the republican psyche.
Nancy J. Curtin
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207368
- eISBN:
- 9780191677632
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207368.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This study aims to sharpen the dynamics of organization within Ireland by focusing on the internal organization and the development of the United Irish movement. It deals primarily with popular ...
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This study aims to sharpen the dynamics of organization within Ireland by focusing on the internal organization and the development of the United Irish movement. It deals primarily with popular politicization and mobilization, adopting an analytic approach rather than a narrative or a biographical one. W. E. H. Lecky saw Irish republicanism as a product of the French revolution, which polarized public opinion in Ireland between radicals and conservatives, destroying in the process a much-admired whiggism represented by Henry Grattan and his party. One of the important contributions to the understanding of the mobilization of the United Irish movement comes from Marianne Elliot. She set the agenda which other historians are following in looking more closely at the popular dimensions of United Irish and Defender mobilization. The study is restricted to Ulster and Dublin, where the republican movement originated and where it achieved its greatest support.Less
This study aims to sharpen the dynamics of organization within Ireland by focusing on the internal organization and the development of the United Irish movement. It deals primarily with popular politicization and mobilization, adopting an analytic approach rather than a narrative or a biographical one. W. E. H. Lecky saw Irish republicanism as a product of the French revolution, which polarized public opinion in Ireland between radicals and conservatives, destroying in the process a much-admired whiggism represented by Henry Grattan and his party. One of the important contributions to the understanding of the mobilization of the United Irish movement comes from Marianne Elliot. She set the agenda which other historians are following in looking more closely at the popular dimensions of United Irish and Defender mobilization. The study is restricted to Ulster and Dublin, where the republican movement originated and where it achieved its greatest support.
S.A. Whiting
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719095726
- eISBN:
- 9781781708767
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095726.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter provides the historical and contextual backdrop to the emergence of dissident republicanism. The aim is to address the gaps that exist in the literature in order to go beyond the ...
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This chapter provides the historical and contextual backdrop to the emergence of dissident republicanism. The aim is to address the gaps that exist in the literature in order to go beyond the description of dissidents as, ‘irritants, embarrassing Sinn Féin’ (Mac Ginty, 2006). Irish republicanism has never been cast in a rigid mould making it harder to define and therefore easier for Sinn Féin, despite the obvious compromises made, to proclaim they remain the embodiment of republican principles. Similarly, ‘dissident’ groups fail to represent a monolithic entity, meaning they cannot be easily slotted into simple categorisations and easily labelled. This chapter explores the impact of external ideological forces, social, political and military circumstances and the influence of other global peace processes on republicanism in Northern Ireland.Less
This chapter provides the historical and contextual backdrop to the emergence of dissident republicanism. The aim is to address the gaps that exist in the literature in order to go beyond the description of dissidents as, ‘irritants, embarrassing Sinn Féin’ (Mac Ginty, 2006). Irish republicanism has never been cast in a rigid mould making it harder to define and therefore easier for Sinn Féin, despite the obvious compromises made, to proclaim they remain the embodiment of republican principles. Similarly, ‘dissident’ groups fail to represent a monolithic entity, meaning they cannot be easily slotted into simple categorisations and easily labelled. This chapter explores the impact of external ideological forces, social, political and military circumstances and the influence of other global peace processes on republicanism in Northern Ireland.
S.A. Whiting
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719095726
- eISBN:
- 9781781708767
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095726.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
The evolution within Sinn Féin and ‘Provisional’ republicanism involved the broadening of ideas, the rearranging of principles and a change of tactics. The sum of these parts was a considerable ...
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The evolution within Sinn Féin and ‘Provisional’ republicanism involved the broadening of ideas, the rearranging of principles and a change of tactics. The sum of these parts was a considerable transition. This chapter examines the ideological and political change within Sinn Féin. The academic literature that considers the evolution of Sinn Féin is wide-ranging in assessing the impact of military fortune and British state strategy but has appeared reluctant to comprehend Sinn Féin as essentially an ordinary political party in modern times, conditioned by the rules of the electoral game and successfully adapting to those rules. In order to begin understanding the dissident ideological standpoint it is necessary to consider Sinn Féin’s movement into constitutional politics within a consociational power-sharing agreement and to what extent that represented the updating, revising or contorting of Irish republican principles.Less
The evolution within Sinn Féin and ‘Provisional’ republicanism involved the broadening of ideas, the rearranging of principles and a change of tactics. The sum of these parts was a considerable transition. This chapter examines the ideological and political change within Sinn Féin. The academic literature that considers the evolution of Sinn Féin is wide-ranging in assessing the impact of military fortune and British state strategy but has appeared reluctant to comprehend Sinn Féin as essentially an ordinary political party in modern times, conditioned by the rules of the electoral game and successfully adapting to those rules. In order to begin understanding the dissident ideological standpoint it is necessary to consider Sinn Féin’s movement into constitutional politics within a consociational power-sharing agreement and to what extent that represented the updating, revising or contorting of Irish republican principles.
Paddy Hoey
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526114242
- eISBN:
- 9781526136091
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526114242.003.0002
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Borrowing on a tradition of radical journalism dating back more than 200 years, modern Irish republicans, in particular, Sinn Féin, have used activist media to articulate their ideological since the ...
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Borrowing on a tradition of radical journalism dating back more than 200 years, modern Irish republicans, in particular, Sinn Féin, have used activist media to articulate their ideological since the late 1960s and the start of the Troubles. At times of marginalisation from the political mainstream through broadcasting bans and structural bias in the media, republicans used their own activist newspapers, pamphlets and promotional materials to convey their political messages. In the same period Sinn Féin began and finished the journey from being the marginal political wing of the Provisional IRA to being arguably the most prominent political party in Irish nationalist politics. Its transformation from minority voice of an armed organisation which saw violence as central to its goals to the main voice of republicanism that had accepted ceasefires and the political path was remarkable. Activist media was central to ideological journey of the Shinners, providing an internal space in which to articulate and interrogate dynamic shifts in ideology and an outward face to communicate these developments.Less
Borrowing on a tradition of radical journalism dating back more than 200 years, modern Irish republicans, in particular, Sinn Féin, have used activist media to articulate their ideological since the late 1960s and the start of the Troubles. At times of marginalisation from the political mainstream through broadcasting bans and structural bias in the media, republicans used their own activist newspapers, pamphlets and promotional materials to convey their political messages. In the same period Sinn Féin began and finished the journey from being the marginal political wing of the Provisional IRA to being arguably the most prominent political party in Irish nationalist politics. Its transformation from minority voice of an armed organisation which saw violence as central to its goals to the main voice of republicanism that had accepted ceasefires and the political path was remarkable. Activist media was central to ideological journey of the Shinners, providing an internal space in which to articulate and interrogate dynamic shifts in ideology and an outward face to communicate these developments.
I. R. Mcbride
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206422
- eISBN:
- 9780191677113
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206422.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This chapter examines the contribution of Ulster Presbyterianism to United Irish political thought during the 18th century. It outlines various modes of argument that characterized radical writing ...
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This chapter examines the contribution of Ulster Presbyterianism to United Irish political thought during the 18th century. It outlines various modes of argument that characterized radical writing during this period and explores how the politics of the Presbyterian pulpit were influenced by the rational religion of the non-subscribers. This chapter also discusses the theological and ecclesiastical identities of the New and Old Light and shows that the influence of theology, ecclesiology, and eschatology on the intellectual climate within which Irish republicanism was able to flourish.Less
This chapter examines the contribution of Ulster Presbyterianism to United Irish political thought during the 18th century. It outlines various modes of argument that characterized radical writing during this period and explores how the politics of the Presbyterian pulpit were influenced by the rational religion of the non-subscribers. This chapter also discusses the theological and ecclesiastical identities of the New and Old Light and shows that the influence of theology, ecclesiology, and eschatology on the intellectual climate within which Irish republicanism was able to flourish.
Mcbride I. R.
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198206422
- eISBN:
- 9780191677113
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206422.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History, Political History
This book examines the central role played by Ulster Presbyterians in the birth of Irish republicanism. Drawing on recent trends in British and American historiography, as well as a wide range of ...
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This book examines the central role played by Ulster Presbyterians in the birth of Irish republicanism. Drawing on recent trends in British and American historiography, as well as a wide range of Irish primary sources, the author of this book charts the development of Presbyterian politics between the War of American Independence and the rebellion of 1798. He begins by tracing the emergence of a radical sub-culture in the north of Ireland, showing how traditions of religious dissent underpinned oppositional politics. He goes on to explore the impact of American independence in Ulster, and shows how the mobilization of the Volunteers and the reform agitation of the 1780s anticipated the ideology and organization of the United Irish movement. He describes how, in the wake of the French Revolution, Ulster Presbyterians sought to create a new Irish nation in their own image, and reveals the confessional allegiances that shaped the 1798 rebellion. Above all, this book uncovers the close relationship between theological disputes and political theory, recreating a distinctive intellectual tradition whose contribution to republican thought has often been misunderstood.Less
This book examines the central role played by Ulster Presbyterians in the birth of Irish republicanism. Drawing on recent trends in British and American historiography, as well as a wide range of Irish primary sources, the author of this book charts the development of Presbyterian politics between the War of American Independence and the rebellion of 1798. He begins by tracing the emergence of a radical sub-culture in the north of Ireland, showing how traditions of religious dissent underpinned oppositional politics. He goes on to explore the impact of American independence in Ulster, and shows how the mobilization of the Volunteers and the reform agitation of the 1780s anticipated the ideology and organization of the United Irish movement. He describes how, in the wake of the French Revolution, Ulster Presbyterians sought to create a new Irish nation in their own image, and reveals the confessional allegiances that shaped the 1798 rebellion. Above all, this book uncovers the close relationship between theological disputes and political theory, recreating a distinctive intellectual tradition whose contribution to republican thought has often been misunderstood.
Richard English (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780197265901
- eISBN:
- 9780191772047
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197265901.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Terrorism and counter-terrorism represent enduringly and globally important phenomena, and the mutually shaping relationship between non-state terrorism and state counter-terrorism continues to shape ...
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Terrorism and counter-terrorism represent enduringly and globally important phenomena, and the mutually shaping relationship between non-state terrorism and state counter-terrorism continues to shape world politics. Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism brings together leading scholars in the field to analyse this relationship, and to do so in a distinctive manner. The book sustainedly assesses the interaction of terrorism and counter-terrorism through drawing simultaneously on a range of academic disciplines in dialogue with one another; it addresses the dynamics of counter-terrorism more interrogatively and concentratedly than is common in much of the scholarly literature; and it highlights a theme that is all too rarely considered in the field: namely, the shared and mutually echoing failings and illusions involved in the politics of terrorism and counter-terrorism alike. Chapters analyse post-9/11 counter-terrorism, the ongoing evolution of al-Qaida, the imperatives and challenges and global context of western counter-terrorist efforts, and the reasons behind terrorist campaigns sometimes enduring and sometimes coming to an end. Candid and wide-ranging, Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism offers rigorous and original argument on a subject of the highest significance.Less
Terrorism and counter-terrorism represent enduringly and globally important phenomena, and the mutually shaping relationship between non-state terrorism and state counter-terrorism continues to shape world politics. Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism brings together leading scholars in the field to analyse this relationship, and to do so in a distinctive manner. The book sustainedly assesses the interaction of terrorism and counter-terrorism through drawing simultaneously on a range of academic disciplines in dialogue with one another; it addresses the dynamics of counter-terrorism more interrogatively and concentratedly than is common in much of the scholarly literature; and it highlights a theme that is all too rarely considered in the field: namely, the shared and mutually echoing failings and illusions involved in the politics of terrorism and counter-terrorism alike. Chapters analyse post-9/11 counter-terrorism, the ongoing evolution of al-Qaida, the imperatives and challenges and global context of western counter-terrorist efforts, and the reasons behind terrorist campaigns sometimes enduring and sometimes coming to an end. Candid and wide-ranging, Illusions of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism offers rigorous and original argument on a subject of the highest significance.
Jack Hepworth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781800855397
- eISBN:
- 9781800853010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781800855397.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
Outlining the historical background to the Northern Ireland conflict, this introduction delineates salient themes in the historiography of Irish republicanism. Introducing the book’s archival ...
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Outlining the historical background to the Northern Ireland conflict, this introduction delineates salient themes in the historiography of Irish republicanism. Introducing the book’s archival sources, oral histories, and interpretive methodologies, it signals attention to republicanism’s internal dynamics. Understanding republicanism’s mosaic quality and strategic transformation, it argues, necessitates a focus upon how republicans have historicised, spatialised, framed, and adapted their struggle differently. The introduction counterposes the tensions between republican attempts to build a uniform, unified movement, and the dissonances and dilemmas which pervaded the movement, especially during strategic review. Explaining variations within Irish republicanism, this introduction foregrounds the key, interconnected factors which simultaneously sustained, complicated, and fragmented republican politics: class, space, and networks within republicanism.Less
Outlining the historical background to the Northern Ireland conflict, this introduction delineates salient themes in the historiography of Irish republicanism. Introducing the book’s archival sources, oral histories, and interpretive methodologies, it signals attention to republicanism’s internal dynamics. Understanding republicanism’s mosaic quality and strategic transformation, it argues, necessitates a focus upon how republicans have historicised, spatialised, framed, and adapted their struggle differently. The introduction counterposes the tensions between republican attempts to build a uniform, unified movement, and the dissonances and dilemmas which pervaded the movement, especially during strategic review. Explaining variations within Irish republicanism, this introduction foregrounds the key, interconnected factors which simultaneously sustained, complicated, and fragmented republican politics: class, space, and networks within republicanism.
Kevin Hearty
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781786940476
- eISBN:
- 9781786944993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781786940476.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter provides an introductory overview of the arguments made throughout the following chapters of the book. It brings together insights from the fields of memory studies and transitional ...
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This chapter provides an introductory overview of the arguments made throughout the following chapters of the book. It brings together insights from the fields of memory studies and transitional justice to establish a theoretical framework for examining the construction, circulation and contestation of collective memories during periods of political violence and how these change during periods of political transition. Drawing on observations made in transitioning societies elsewhere, the chapter will highlight how the past becomes a highly contestable resource not only between but also within collectives during political transition. Cognisant of this, the chapter will proceed to outline the main research aims of the book and the research questions that it aims to provide answers to in ascertaining both how and why memory is/was moulded by various actors within modern Irish republicanism to either support or reject the endorsement of policing and criminal justice in Northern Ireland.Less
This chapter provides an introductory overview of the arguments made throughout the following chapters of the book. It brings together insights from the fields of memory studies and transitional justice to establish a theoretical framework for examining the construction, circulation and contestation of collective memories during periods of political violence and how these change during periods of political transition. Drawing on observations made in transitioning societies elsewhere, the chapter will highlight how the past becomes a highly contestable resource not only between but also within collectives during political transition. Cognisant of this, the chapter will proceed to outline the main research aims of the book and the research questions that it aims to provide answers to in ascertaining both how and why memory is/was moulded by various actors within modern Irish republicanism to either support or reject the endorsement of policing and criminal justice in Northern Ireland.
Andrew Sanders
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748641123
- eISBN:
- 9780748652907
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748641123.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, UK Politics
Irish republicanism during the 1980s is inextricably linked to the hunger strikes of 1981, the culmination of five years of protest inside Northern Irish prisons as a result of the 1976 normalisation ...
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Irish republicanism during the 1980s is inextricably linked to the hunger strikes of 1981, the culmination of five years of protest inside Northern Irish prisons as a result of the 1976 normalisation policies that the British government introduced as a means to de-legitimise the republican struggle. The prison campaign had massive ramifications domestically and internationally, as republicans in the United States enjoyed something of a renaissance during the early 1980s. With the strategic focus of the movement now firmly on the political arena, the American dimension evolved similarly as prominent political figures exerted increasing influence on the Northern Irish situation. This chapter re-evaluates the period in light of the considerable dissent that has fermented against the Provisional republican leadership.Less
Irish republicanism during the 1980s is inextricably linked to the hunger strikes of 1981, the culmination of five years of protest inside Northern Irish prisons as a result of the 1976 normalisation policies that the British government introduced as a means to de-legitimise the republican struggle. The prison campaign had massive ramifications domestically and internationally, as republicans in the United States enjoyed something of a renaissance during the early 1980s. With the strategic focus of the movement now firmly on the political arena, the American dimension evolved similarly as prominent political figures exerted increasing influence on the Northern Irish situation. This chapter re-evaluates the period in light of the considerable dissent that has fermented against the Provisional republican leadership.
Jack Hepworth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781800855397
- eISBN:
- 9781800853010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781800855397.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter situates republicanism in the context of the global New Left and the ‘afterlives’ of the global ’68: assessing how republicans by turns imitated, refracted, and repudiated New Left ideas ...
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This chapter situates republicanism in the context of the global New Left and the ‘afterlives’ of the global ’68: assessing how republicans by turns imitated, refracted, and repudiated New Left ideas illuminates the multiplicity of Irish republicanism in ‘the ’68 years’. Assessing the acutely local character of republican reawakening in 1969, this chapter juxtaposes republicans’ international political perspectives and the primacy of a supposedly unique Irish national struggle. Analysing the commemorations of Northern Ireland’s ’68 on its tenth anniversary, it discusses the potency and contentiousness of collective memory of civil rights among republicans historicising and rethinking their ongoing campaign in 1978.Less
This chapter situates republicanism in the context of the global New Left and the ‘afterlives’ of the global ’68: assessing how republicans by turns imitated, refracted, and repudiated New Left ideas illuminates the multiplicity of Irish republicanism in ‘the ’68 years’. Assessing the acutely local character of republican reawakening in 1969, this chapter juxtaposes republicans’ international political perspectives and the primacy of a supposedly unique Irish national struggle. Analysing the commemorations of Northern Ireland’s ’68 on its tenth anniversary, it discusses the potency and contentiousness of collective memory of civil rights among republicans historicising and rethinking their ongoing campaign in 1978.
Jack Hepworth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781800855397
- eISBN:
- 9781800853010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781800855397.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter analyses how republicans negotiated left-wing ideas within an enduring master frame which emphasised the British presence, rather than global capitalism, as its enemy. It disaggregates ...
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This chapter analyses how republicans negotiated left-wing ideas within an enduring master frame which emphasised the British presence, rather than global capitalism, as its enemy. It disaggregates the structural pressures towards radicalism, particularly in an international context, and the importance of local circuits and milieux in mitigating socialism’s impact on republicanism. While socialism was an important influence throughout the Provisional republican movement, a powerful tradition in Irish republicanism persistently stressed the primacy of the distinctly nationalist struggle, even to the point of national exceptionalism. Analysing republican engagements with the Soviet Union and the so-called ‘Third World’ in the 1970s, alongside republicans’ socioeconomic programmes and leftist critiques in the 1980s, this chapter assesses how divergent interpretations of class politics and networks within the movement informed republicans’ global politics.Less
This chapter analyses how republicans negotiated left-wing ideas within an enduring master frame which emphasised the British presence, rather than global capitalism, as its enemy. It disaggregates the structural pressures towards radicalism, particularly in an international context, and the importance of local circuits and milieux in mitigating socialism’s impact on republicanism. While socialism was an important influence throughout the Provisional republican movement, a powerful tradition in Irish republicanism persistently stressed the primacy of the distinctly nationalist struggle, even to the point of national exceptionalism. Analysing republican engagements with the Soviet Union and the so-called ‘Third World’ in the 1970s, alongside republicans’ socioeconomic programmes and leftist critiques in the 1980s, this chapter assesses how divergent interpretations of class politics and networks within the movement informed republicans’ global politics.
Eoin Daly and Tom Hickey
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719095283
- eISBN:
- 9781781708842
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719095283.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
The Introduction gives an overview of republican ideas in the history of thought and it considers how these apply to constitutional problems. It considers the development of “republican ...
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The Introduction gives an overview of republican ideas in the history of thought and it considers how these apply to constitutional problems. It considers the development of “republican constitutionalism” in various jurisdictions. It then considers the specificity of republicanism in the Irish setting and its possible application in the constitutional-law context.Less
The Introduction gives an overview of republican ideas in the history of thought and it considers how these apply to constitutional problems. It considers the development of “republican constitutionalism” in various jurisdictions. It then considers the specificity of republicanism in the Irish setting and its possible application in the constitutional-law context.
Kevin Hearty
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781786940476
- eISBN:
- 9781786944993
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781786940476.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The conclusion outlines how memory politics features in different ways and at different levels within the extended Irish republican debate on policing. It suggests that any understanding of the role ...
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The conclusion outlines how memory politics features in different ways and at different levels within the extended Irish republican debate on policing. It suggests that any understanding of the role memory politics plays within modern Irish republicanism must acknowledge that it operates on three different levels; the conventional level, an inter-communal level and an intra-communal level. In operating on the conventional level, memory politics is seen to feature in the Irish republican policing debate in ways that it has featured in other transitioning societies. In operating on an inter-communal level Irish republican policing memory can be seen to feed into the ‘metaconflict’ in a post-conflict society that has not yet systematically addressed its violent past. In operating on an intra-communal level memory is a useful political resource between competing groups who are seeking to either drive or spoil transitional processes in Northern Ireland.Less
The conclusion outlines how memory politics features in different ways and at different levels within the extended Irish republican debate on policing. It suggests that any understanding of the role memory politics plays within modern Irish republicanism must acknowledge that it operates on three different levels; the conventional level, an inter-communal level and an intra-communal level. In operating on the conventional level, memory politics is seen to feature in the Irish republican policing debate in ways that it has featured in other transitioning societies. In operating on an inter-communal level Irish republican policing memory can be seen to feed into the ‘metaconflict’ in a post-conflict society that has not yet systematically addressed its violent past. In operating on an intra-communal level memory is a useful political resource between competing groups who are seeking to either drive or spoil transitional processes in Northern Ireland.
Paddy Hoey
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781526114242
- eISBN:
- 9781526136091
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9781526114242.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Politics, Social Movements and Social Change
Newspapers, magazines and pamphlets have always been central, almost sacred, forms of communication within Irish republican political culture. While social media is becoming the primary ideological ...
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Newspapers, magazines and pamphlets have always been central, almost sacred, forms of communication within Irish republican political culture. While social media is becoming the primary ideological battleground in many democracies, Irish republicanism steadfastly expresses itself in the traditional forms of activist journalism. Shinners, Dissos and Dissenters is a long-term analysis of the development of Irish republican activist media since 1998 and the tumultuous years following the end of the Troubles. It is the first in-depth analysis of the newspapers, magazines and online spaces in which the differing strands of Irish republicanism developed and were articulated during a period where schism and dissent defined a return to violence. Based on an analysis of Irish republican media outlets as well as interviews with the key activists that produced them, this book provides a compelling long-term snapshot of a political ideology in transition. It reveals how Irish Republicanism was moulded by the twin forces of the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the violent internal ideological schism that threatened a return to the ‘bad old days’ of the Troubles. This book is vital for those studying Irish politics and those interested in activism as it provides new insights into the role that modern activist media forms have played in the ideological development of a 200-year-old political tradition.Less
Newspapers, magazines and pamphlets have always been central, almost sacred, forms of communication within Irish republican political culture. While social media is becoming the primary ideological battleground in many democracies, Irish republicanism steadfastly expresses itself in the traditional forms of activist journalism. Shinners, Dissos and Dissenters is a long-term analysis of the development of Irish republican activist media since 1998 and the tumultuous years following the end of the Troubles. It is the first in-depth analysis of the newspapers, magazines and online spaces in which the differing strands of Irish republicanism developed and were articulated during a period where schism and dissent defined a return to violence. Based on an analysis of Irish republican media outlets as well as interviews with the key activists that produced them, this book provides a compelling long-term snapshot of a political ideology in transition. It reveals how Irish Republicanism was moulded by the twin forces of the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the violent internal ideological schism that threatened a return to the ‘bad old days’ of the Troubles. This book is vital for those studying Irish politics and those interested in activism as it provides new insights into the role that modern activist media forms have played in the ideological development of a 200-year-old political tradition.
Ian S. Wood
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748623273
- eISBN:
- 9780748651412
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748623273.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The Emergency years drew the IRA into attacks on both sides of the Irish border and in Britain, which proved to be beyond its resources. It was severely hit by coercive measures applied against it by ...
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The Emergency years drew the IRA into attacks on both sides of the Irish border and in Britain, which proved to be beyond its resources. It was severely hit by coercive measures applied against it by both the Stormont and Dublin governments and, by 1945, there was little its leadership could claim to have achieved. The moral myopia of so many Irish republicans of this era could simply take the form of apparent indifference to dramatic and historic events beyond Éire's borders. Others saw the armed struggle within a context of suffocating self-righteousness. Militarily, the IRA never posed a serious threat to an Irish state which, from the outset of the Emergency, was equipped with formidable powers to keep its activists under surveillance and have them charged or interned. The real danger would have been if Germany had ever been able to co-ordinate operations of its own on Irish territory with the IRA, and the Abwehr did have contacts with it that pre-dated the outbreak of war.Less
The Emergency years drew the IRA into attacks on both sides of the Irish border and in Britain, which proved to be beyond its resources. It was severely hit by coercive measures applied against it by both the Stormont and Dublin governments and, by 1945, there was little its leadership could claim to have achieved. The moral myopia of so many Irish republicans of this era could simply take the form of apparent indifference to dramatic and historic events beyond Éire's borders. Others saw the armed struggle within a context of suffocating self-righteousness. Militarily, the IRA never posed a serious threat to an Irish state which, from the outset of the Emergency, was equipped with formidable powers to keep its activists under surveillance and have them charged or interned. The real danger would have been if Germany had ever been able to co-ordinate operations of its own on Irish territory with the IRA, and the Abwehr did have contacts with it that pre-dated the outbreak of war.
Jack Hepworth
- Published in print:
- 2021
- Published Online:
- May 2022
- ISBN:
- 9781800855397
- eISBN:
- 9781800853010
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781800855397.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This conclusion elaborates the key explanatory factors which the book identifies as integral to Irish republican heterogeneity. Place remains salient among republicans, informing identities within ...
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This conclusion elaborates the key explanatory factors which the book identifies as integral to Irish republican heterogeneity. Place remains salient among republicans, informing identities within the movement and continually reframing the conflict’s legacies. Republican experiences of class and interactions with socialism also undergirded the movement’s complex ecology. Especially after 1969, networks within republicanism usually formed what this book terms ‘pragmatic’ and ‘orthodox’ milieux. The distinction between these networks was more fluid and contingent than fixed categories of generation, geography, or rank within the movement. Especially at moments of crisis or heightened debate within republicanism, pragmatists were more open to tactical adaptation, perceiving new political opportunities. Their degree of readiness to alter course usually correlated with confidence in the movement’s leaders. By contrast, orthodox republicans stressed the political authority of tradition in ‘the age-old struggle’.Less
This conclusion elaborates the key explanatory factors which the book identifies as integral to Irish republican heterogeneity. Place remains salient among republicans, informing identities within the movement and continually reframing the conflict’s legacies. Republican experiences of class and interactions with socialism also undergirded the movement’s complex ecology. Especially after 1969, networks within republicanism usually formed what this book terms ‘pragmatic’ and ‘orthodox’ milieux. The distinction between these networks was more fluid and contingent than fixed categories of generation, geography, or rank within the movement. Especially at moments of crisis or heightened debate within republicanism, pragmatists were more open to tactical adaptation, perceiving new political opportunities. Their degree of readiness to alter course usually correlated with confidence in the movement’s leaders. By contrast, orthodox republicans stressed the political authority of tradition in ‘the age-old struggle’.