State Violence, Collusion and the Troubles

Counter Insurgency, Government Deviance and Northern Ireland

Maurice Punch

The period in Northern Ireland known as ‘the Troubles’ (1968-98) seemed to have been conclusively ended by the official peace process. But recent violence from dissident Republicans shows that tensions from the past remain unresolved.

State Violence, Collusion and the Troubles reveals disturbing unanswered questions about the use of state violence during this period. Maurice Punch documents in chilling detail how the British government turned to desperate, illegal measures in a time of crisis, disregarding domestic and international law. He broadens out his analysis to consider other cases of state violence against ‘insurgent groups’ in Spain and South Africa.

This is the story of how the British state collaborated with violent groups and directly participated in illegal violence. It also raises urgent questions about why states around the world continue to deploy such violence rather than seeking durable political settlements.

Contents

1. State Crime: ‘Bloody Sunday’ and the Troubles
2. State Terror and Insurgent Terrorism
3. Roots of the Troubles: Emergency Context: Conspiracy?
4. Security Units: Firearms Policy: Rough Justice
5. Dirty Tricks: Intelligence, Informants and Collusion.
6. Investigations, Courts, Inquiries and Whistle-blowing.
7. End Game: State Deviance: Learning from the Past.

About the Author

Maurice Punch is Visiting Professor at the Mannheim Centre for Criminology, LSE, and Visiting Professor at the Law School, King’s College London. He is the author of Shoot to Kill: Exploring Police Use of Firearms (2010) and Police Corruption: Deviance, Accountability and Reform in Policing (2009).