Laura O’Reilly
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780719096310
- eISBN:
- 9781526120809
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096310.003.0021
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
In the immediate aftermath of the Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was introduced as British politicians struggled to deal with the increasing threat of the ...
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In the immediate aftermath of the Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was introduced as British politicians struggled to deal with the increasing threat of the Provisional IRA on British soil. This reactionary measure intensified the already contested policy of Internment and would have severe implications for the Irish communities in England. This chapter argues that through the implementation of this legislation, alongside a media campaign that failed to put the conflict into context, a 'suspect community' was created, in which civil liberties were taken away from Irish people simply because of their ethnicity. However, the PTA not only created this 'suspect community' in the eyes of the police and the government, but also - and perhaps most crucially - for the public too. The negative impact this had 'ordinary', innocent Irish people is therefore analysed through the personal experiences of one Irish family as they discuss the institutionalised racism they faced living in Birmingham throughout the period. The chapter concludes by drawing on the importance of oral history, as it has taken almost half a century for the family to openly recount their experiences.Less
In the immediate aftermath of the Birmingham Pub Bombings in 1974, the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) was introduced as British politicians struggled to deal with the increasing threat of the Provisional IRA on British soil. This reactionary measure intensified the already contested policy of Internment and would have severe implications for the Irish communities in England. This chapter argues that through the implementation of this legislation, alongside a media campaign that failed to put the conflict into context, a 'suspect community' was created, in which civil liberties were taken away from Irish people simply because of their ethnicity. However, the PTA not only created this 'suspect community' in the eyes of the police and the government, but also - and perhaps most crucially - for the public too. The negative impact this had 'ordinary', innocent Irish people is therefore analysed through the personal experiences of one Irish family as they discuss the institutionalised racism they faced living in Birmingham throughout the period. The chapter concludes by drawing on the importance of oral history, as it has taken almost half a century for the family to openly recount their experiences.
Victoria Sentas
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199674633
- eISBN:
- 9780191772870
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199674633.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Globally, terrorism laws and their policing have been charged with eroding civil liberties and discriminating against Muslim and minority communities. This book goes further. It explains how the ...
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Globally, terrorism laws and their policing have been charged with eroding civil liberties and discriminating against Muslim and minority communities. This book goes further. It explains how the operation and effect of counter-terrorism has been to constitute Muslims and targeted multi-ethnic peoples as policed subjects. An Australian study of those who are policed and those who police, this book traces the persistence of race, racialisation, and racism in practices presented as ‘race neutral’ and consensual. It explores the contemporary policies, laws, and ‘common sense’ understandings, which normalise the policing of Muslim, Somali, Kurdish, and Tamil communities. Drawing on interviews, observations, and policy analysis, it examines ‘security policing’ in the work of Victoria Police, the Australian Intelligence and Security Organisation (ASIO), and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). From raids and prosecutions, to informal questioning and communitarian forms of regulation, it demonstrates the enduring and shifting meanings of these practices and their lived, often contradictory effects. Neither a study of police racism nor of experiences of discrimination, this book explains how modes of regulation exist as force and authority but act primarily through the management and valorisation of difference, identity, and belonging.Less
Globally, terrorism laws and their policing have been charged with eroding civil liberties and discriminating against Muslim and minority communities. This book goes further. It explains how the operation and effect of counter-terrorism has been to constitute Muslims and targeted multi-ethnic peoples as policed subjects. An Australian study of those who are policed and those who police, this book traces the persistence of race, racialisation, and racism in practices presented as ‘race neutral’ and consensual. It explores the contemporary policies, laws, and ‘common sense’ understandings, which normalise the policing of Muslim, Somali, Kurdish, and Tamil communities. Drawing on interviews, observations, and policy analysis, it examines ‘security policing’ in the work of Victoria Police, the Australian Intelligence and Security Organisation (ASIO), and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). From raids and prosecutions, to informal questioning and communitarian forms of regulation, it demonstrates the enduring and shifting meanings of these practices and their lived, often contradictory effects. Neither a study of police racism nor of experiences of discrimination, this book explains how modes of regulation exist as force and authority but act primarily through the management and valorisation of difference, identity, and belonging.
Priya Dixit
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719091766
- eISBN:
- 9781781708927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719091766.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter reflects upon how states’ use of the language of terrorism works to authorize specific actions for the state and to establish a particular (counterterrorist) state identity. By ...
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This chapter reflects upon how states’ use of the language of terrorism works to authorize specific actions for the state and to establish a particular (counterterrorist) state identity. By illustrating two main practices—the formation of “suspect communities”, wherein particular groups of people are deemed “suspect” and threats to the state, and terroristization where issues are claimed to be beyond normal politics due to their security-related importance—the chapter draws attention to how states establish authority while labelling others as “terrorist”.Less
This chapter reflects upon how states’ use of the language of terrorism works to authorize specific actions for the state and to establish a particular (counterterrorist) state identity. By illustrating two main practices—the formation of “suspect communities”, wherein particular groups of people are deemed “suspect” and threats to the state, and terroristization where issues are claimed to be beyond normal politics due to their security-related importance—the chapter draws attention to how states establish authority while labelling others as “terrorist”.
Lee Jarvis and Michael Lister
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719091599
- eISBN:
- 9781781708316
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719091599.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Conflict Politics and Policy
This chapter explores contemporary debate around security and citizenship, situating our understanding of each within these. It argues that both are, fundamentally, experiences rooted in everyday ...
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This chapter explores contemporary debate around security and citizenship, situating our understanding of each within these. It argues that both are, fundamentally, experiences rooted in everyday life, rather than abstract or formal statuses or conditions. The chapter concludes by discussing the methodology underpinning the book’s empirical research.Less
This chapter explores contemporary debate around security and citizenship, situating our understanding of each within these. It argues that both are, fundamentally, experiences rooted in everyday life, rather than abstract or formal statuses or conditions. The chapter concludes by discussing the methodology underpinning the book’s empirical research.
Nadine Finch
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780719096310
- eISBN:
- 9781526120809
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096310.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 and its successors was only part, albeit an important part, of the methodology used to control the Irish community. Very few terrorists ...
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The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 and its successors was only part, albeit an important part, of the methodology used to control the Irish community. Very few terrorists were arrested and prosecuted under these Acts but they provided the British government with a wide range of effective information gathering powers. Many members of the Irish community had suffered from a lack of civil and economic rights in the North of Ireland in the past and were deeply concerned at the use of strip-searching, plastic bullets and shoot to kill policies there. But the Prevention of Terrorism Acts tended to have a chilling effect on political debate and action in the Irish community in Britain; as did a number of now notorious miscarriages of justice; such as the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven. At the same time, Frank Kitson’s intelligence gathering methods, referred to in his seminal text, Low Intensity Operations, were used to increase surveillance of the Irish community in Britain and much of the British media fuelled anti-Irish racism. Later the spread of similar policing tactics to other minority communities in Britain had the unintended consequence of building understanding of and support for the previously beleaguered Irish community.Less
The Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act 1974 and its successors was only part, albeit an important part, of the methodology used to control the Irish community. Very few terrorists were arrested and prosecuted under these Acts but they provided the British government with a wide range of effective information gathering powers. Many members of the Irish community had suffered from a lack of civil and economic rights in the North of Ireland in the past and were deeply concerned at the use of strip-searching, plastic bullets and shoot to kill policies there. But the Prevention of Terrorism Acts tended to have a chilling effect on political debate and action in the Irish community in Britain; as did a number of now notorious miscarriages of justice; such as the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four and the Maguire Seven. At the same time, Frank Kitson’s intelligence gathering methods, referred to in his seminal text, Low Intensity Operations, were used to increase surveillance of the Irish community in Britain and much of the British media fuelled anti-Irish racism. Later the spread of similar policing tactics to other minority communities in Britain had the unintended consequence of building understanding of and support for the previously beleaguered Irish community.
Tony Murray
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780719096310
- eISBN:
- 9781526120809
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719096310.003.0015
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter explores how three short stories by William Trevor portray the way in which Irish people in London were affected by the Troubles. For a writer who had established a reputation for his ...
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This chapter explores how three short stories by William Trevor portray the way in which Irish people in London were affected by the Troubles. For a writer who had established a reputation for his empathetic portrayal of the anomalous position of the Anglo-Irish in Ireland, the political situation of the Irish in London in the 1970s and 1980s provided Trevor with similar subject matter, but in a wholly new context. His stories provide an important corrective to some of the more pervasive stereotypes found in the popular genre of Troubles fiction. They reveal how, during the Troubles, the neighbourhood and the home became heightened political ‘contact zones’ between migrant and host communities. With attention to AvtarBrah’s notion of ‘diaspora space’, I demonstrate how fiction, and the personal and collective narratives contained therein, has a valuable role to play in mediating memories of the Troubles in Britain. This, in turn, can inform the wider discussion of British-Irish relations and contribute to post-conflict understanding.Less
This chapter explores how three short stories by William Trevor portray the way in which Irish people in London were affected by the Troubles. For a writer who had established a reputation for his empathetic portrayal of the anomalous position of the Anglo-Irish in Ireland, the political situation of the Irish in London in the 1970s and 1980s provided Trevor with similar subject matter, but in a wholly new context. His stories provide an important corrective to some of the more pervasive stereotypes found in the popular genre of Troubles fiction. They reveal how, during the Troubles, the neighbourhood and the home became heightened political ‘contact zones’ between migrant and host communities. With attention to AvtarBrah’s notion of ‘diaspora space’, I demonstrate how fiction, and the personal and collective narratives contained therein, has a valuable role to play in mediating memories of the Troubles in Britain. This, in turn, can inform the wider discussion of British-Irish relations and contribute to post-conflict understanding.
Victoria Sentas
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- April 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199674633
- eISBN:
- 9780191772870
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199674633.003.0008
- Subject:
- Law, Criminal Law and Criminology
Counter-terrorism law and policing contribute understandings about the social relations of race neither readily categorised nor collectable in an inventory. They function to manage, reward, ...
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Counter-terrorism law and policing contribute understandings about the social relations of race neither readily categorised nor collectable in an inventory. They function to manage, reward, incapacitate, criminalise, and include and exclude those policed. This concluding chapter reflects on the utility of the concepts criminalisation, suspect community, and belonging.Less
Counter-terrorism law and policing contribute understandings about the social relations of race neither readily categorised nor collectable in an inventory. They function to manage, reward, incapacitate, criminalise, and include and exclude those policed. This concluding chapter reflects on the utility of the concepts criminalisation, suspect community, and belonging.
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/9781786940476.003.0002
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This chapter provides an historic overview of policing and the rule of law in Northern Ireland and the violent antagonistic relationship Irish republicanism has traditionally had with it. It traces ...
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This chapter provides an historic overview of policing and the rule of law in Northern Ireland and the violent antagonistic relationship Irish republicanism has traditionally had with it. It traces the development of this problematic relationship from the earliest use of the colonial policy of plantation, through to the fostering of ‘divided society’ policing following the partition of the island of Ireland and the creation of a ‘Protestant state for a Protestant people’, eventually culminating in the open armed confrontation between the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and Irish republican armed groups during the most recent phase of conflict in the six counties. Linking the issue of policing to the prevailing political climate, the chapter closes by examining how the issue of policing was addressed in respect of the wider transition then taking place in Northern Ireland. It analyses how Irish republicans adapted their position on and attitude towards policing and the rule of law in tandem with a changing political relationship with the Northern Ireland state following the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).Less
This chapter provides an historic overview of policing and the rule of law in Northern Ireland and the violent antagonistic relationship Irish republicanism has traditionally had with it. It traces the development of this problematic relationship from the earliest use of the colonial policy of plantation, through to the fostering of ‘divided society’ policing following the partition of the island of Ireland and the creation of a ‘Protestant state for a Protestant people’, eventually culminating in the open armed confrontation between the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and Irish republican armed groups during the most recent phase of conflict in the six counties. Linking the issue of policing to the prevailing political climate, the chapter closes by examining how the issue of policing was addressed in respect of the wider transition then taking place in Northern Ireland. It analyses how Irish republicans adapted their position on and attitude towards policing and the rule of law in tandem with a changing political relationship with the Northern Ireland state following the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).
Santana Khanikar
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780199485550
- eISBN:
- 9780199092031
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780199485550.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Indian Politics
How does a police force in the capital city of a democracy operate at an everyday level? Ethnographic fieldwork of policing practices inside police stations and outside in the policed territories and ...
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How does a police force in the capital city of a democracy operate at an everyday level? Ethnographic fieldwork of policing practices inside police stations and outside in the policed territories and interpreting them in the light of police manuals and laws, help develop in this chapter a background to understand the place of the police as an institution and the police personnel as performers of the state, in the self-imaginations of police personnel as well as in the imaginations of those in the margins. Looking at methods of crime investigation and categories such as ‘Bad Character’, the chapter further comments on constructions of crime and criminality. The chapter also briefly engages with the question of the positionality of the researcher and how the identity of an intersectional ‘outsider’ in the space of a police station evokes complex responses.Less
How does a police force in the capital city of a democracy operate at an everyday level? Ethnographic fieldwork of policing practices inside police stations and outside in the policed territories and interpreting them in the light of police manuals and laws, help develop in this chapter a background to understand the place of the police as an institution and the police personnel as performers of the state, in the self-imaginations of police personnel as well as in the imaginations of those in the margins. Looking at methods of crime investigation and categories such as ‘Bad Character’, the chapter further comments on constructions of crime and criminality. The chapter also briefly engages with the question of the positionality of the researcher and how the identity of an intersectional ‘outsider’ in the space of a police station evokes complex responses.