State Violence, Collusion and the Troubles

The period in Northern Ireland known as 'the Troubles' (1968-98) seemed to have been conclusively ended by the official peace process. But recent assassinations by the Real IRA show 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 '¬Üinsurgent 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.

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).

Contents * Part I: The State and Terrorism *  1. The State, State Terror and Insurgent Terrorism * Part II: The British State, Northern Ireland and Shoot to Kill * 2. Context, Shoot to Kill, Slippery Slope, Precipitating Factors * 3. Rough Justice, Special Units and Clean Kills * 4. Dirty Tricks and Collusion * 5. Investigations: Coroners and Courts: Inquiries  * Part III: Conclusion. States, Insurgency and Deviance * 6. Peace and Settlement: All but a Policy? States and Terrorism * Appendix I: IRA and Loyalist Paramilitary Organisations * Appendix II: Main Government, RUC and Army Intelligence, Undercover and Counter-Terrorist Agencies * Appendix III: Police Use of Firearms in Britain