NCJ Number
116543
Journal
Comparative Politics Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: (April 1987) Pages: 281-298
Date Published
1987
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This study examines the ongoing struggle in Northern Ireland to shape internal security policies and structures in terms of regime priorities and capacities; the influence of organized party pressure, particularly that of the Protestant Unionist parties; and the impact of collective protest and resistance.
Abstract
The containment of disorder within manageable bounds is the British government's chief and immediate priority, but its ultimate goal is to achieve a lasting political settlement acceptable to all parties. Specifically, the British government wants a modernized political order based on power-sharing between moderate leaders of the majority and minority; impartial administration; overeaching solidarities; accommodationist values; and an internal security system that is politically neutral, acceptable to both communities, and committed to justice. Although British involvement serves to mediate between opposing sides and maintain law and order in a relatively impartial fashion, it essentially maintains the status quo favored by the Protestant Unionist parties, i.e., a political entity that is part of the United Kingdom rather than Ireland. Neither loyalists, nationalists, nor the British government apparently have the necessary incentive and capacity to fundamentally transform the existing security apparatus. 69 notes.