Counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland : a Case in Point?

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2014-07
Language
en
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Abstract
In this thesis it is argued that Northern Ireland became the stage for a revolutionary war during the Troubles of 1969-98. The conflict is thus perceived as a politico-military struggle in which Republicans waged an insurgency in order to secede from the United Kingdom while the British government acted as a counterinsurgent to prevent them from doing so. Here, an insurgency is defined as an internal struggle in which a disaffected group (the insurgents) seeks to gain control of a nation. It is a hybrid form of conflict that combines subversion, guerrilla warfare, and terrorism. Counterinsurgency is its reactive strategy which is adopted by – or in aid of – the government defending the status quo. It covers the wide range of political and military efforts taken to prevent the insurgents from winning over the support of the population while simultaneously convincing this population of the government’s cause.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen