NORTHERN IRELAND, TERRORISM, AND THE BRITISH STATE (FROM TERRORISM - THEORY AND PRACTICE, 1979, BY YONAH ALEXANDER ET AL SEE NCJ-57914)

• NCJ Number: 57918
• Author(s): A O'DAY
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: Westview Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THE ORIGIN AND CHARACTER OF IRISH TERRORISM ARE EXAMINED IN ORDER TO ASSESS THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT IS AN ISOLATED PHENOMENON AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH THE DIFFICULTIES THERE MAY BE RELEVANT TO UNDERSTANDING TERRORISM ELSEWHERE.

Abstract

THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES THE VARIOUS STRANDS OF THE CONFLICT IN NORTHERN IRELAND IN ORDER TO ASSESS THEIR WIDER RELEVANCE. IT IS ARGUED THAT THE BREAKDOWN OF AUTHORITY IN NORTHERN IRELAND IS LARGELY A RESULT OF THE INNER FAILURE OF BRITISH SOCIETY, WHICH, WHEN MIXED WITH LOCAL GRIEVANCES, HAS CREATED CONDITIONS HIGHLY SUITED TO EXTREMIST ACTIVITIES. SINCE 1968, THE ANNUAL NUMBER OF DEATHS CAUSED BY POLITICAL DISTURBANCES IN ULSTER HAS AVERAGED ABOUT 200 A YEAR. RELATIVE TO POPULATION, THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO 232,668 DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES AND MORE THAN 59,010 IN GREAT BRITAIN OVER THE WHOLE PERIOD. EXCLUDING OPEN WARFARE, NO PART OF WESTERN EUROPE OR NORTH AMERICA HAS SUFFERED SUCH BLOODSHED FOR SUCH A PROLONGED PERIOD OVER THE PAST 100 YEARS. DURING THE LAST CENTURY, THE MOVEMENTS HEADED BY DANIEL O'CONNELL AND CHARLES STEWART PARNELL EXEMPLIFIED THE NONMILITARY, CONSTITUTIONAL SIDE OF THE IRISH FIGHT. TERRORISM IN NORTHERN IRELAND IS INTERTWINED WITH IRISH HISTORY AND IS LITTLE INSPIRED BY MOVEMENTS ELSEWHERE. HOWEVER, THE IRISH TERRORISTS HAVE ESTABLISHED CONTACTS WITH AND RECEIVE ARMS AND MONEY FROM FOREIGN SOURCES. THERE ARE TWO MAIN DIVISIONS WITHIN THE IRISH REPUBLICAN MOVEMENT: THE IRA (IRISH REPUBLICAN ARMY) AND THE PROVISIONAL IRA. THE OFFICIAL IRA WITH ITS MARXIST CREED APPEALS TO INTELLECTUALS WHILE THE PROVISIONALS APPEAL MORE TO THE WORKING CLASS. IT IS ASSERTED THAT IRISH TERRORISM SINCE THE LATE 1960'S HAS BEEN HIGHLY PREDICTABLE, BUT THAT IT STILL RESEMBLES OTHER UNPREDICTABLE TERRORIST GROUPS. IT IS STATED THAT THE FUTURE OF TERRORISM IN IRELAND IS UNCERTAIN, BUT THAT IT IS POSSIBLE FOR IT TO BECOME A MORE INTERNATIONAL MOVEMENT, DEPENDING UPON THE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVES INITIATED THERE BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT. REFERENCE GOVERNMENT. REFERENCE NOTES ARE PROVIDED. (PRG)