From Paramilitaries to Peacemakers: The Gender Dynamics of Community-Based Restorative Justice in Northern Ireland

Community-based restorative justice (CBRJ) schemes emerged in Northern Ireland during the 'peace process' to provide an alternative to paramilitary systems of justice. These initiatives have received considerable academic attention. A complex and critical literature has now emerged in this area; however, extant explorations of CBRJ have tended to sideline issues of gender power. Feminists and international bodies, such as the United Nations, have highlighted the importance of addressing historical gendered inequities in terms of the design and evaluation of conflict transformation initiatives. Drawing on contemporary feminist frameworks this article exposes the importance of the category of gender in evaluations of CBRJ in Northern Ireland. Moreover, it scrutinises the theoretical processes through which issues of gender power have been filtered out of evaluations of community-based restorative justice schemes in the region.     

北宋前期招抚吐蕃简论

北宋前期,宋廷对吐蕃的招抚发生于宋、夏、蕃三者错综复杂的争夺形势之中。北宋对吐蕃的招抚具有军事、经济、政治综合经制的鲜明特点,"抚而有之"收到了一定的效果。但是,宋王朝招抚吐蕃所具有的时代与阶级的局限性却规定着宋蕃关系发展的最终走向。     

That Awkward Region: Writing and Advising on the History of Northern Ireland

The history of Northern Ireland poses two particular challenges for the political historian. First, histories of the region are inextricably bound up with contemporary political positions: historical time becomes distorted as histories are refracted through the lens of modern political controversies. Second, the importance of historical ‘memory’ to contemporary politics leaves little room for doubt, uncertainty or academic expertise. The past is assumed to be known; what place is there for academic historians when politicians and many members of the public are so invested in their own readings of the past? This article explores these challenges through two case studies in which the author was involved: the Historical Advisory Panel established by the UK government for the centenary of Northern Ireland; and subsequent debates around the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It illustrates the difficult relationship between academic, public and politicised histories, and considers the lessons for historians whose expertise places them at the interface of those different ‘pasts’.     

从诏令看北宋时期君主的“畏天”之德

由于北宋特殊的政治环境,"畏天"成为君德的重要内容,其核心意义是敬慎。"畏天"在诏令中的使用语境,包括新皇即位、发生灾异、群臣上尊号三种,一方面表现出对天的敬畏之意,一方面表达了建立在天命基础上的皇位合法性诉求。"畏天"也是北宋士大夫对君主德行的期望。他们通过上书、撰写专门论证文章的形式,阐发"畏天"是约束君主的手段之一,以此说明君主的"畏天"之德不仅仅只是道德领域的事,还具备了政治上的重要作用。既能表明其为君之合法性,又能教化百姓,有利于形成修德、立身、听命的社会之风,稳定其统治。     

The amateur revolutionaries: A reassessment of the FLQ

Although Canada has experienced a wide variety of forms of political terrorism, only the FLQ's attack on federalism has earned a lasting place in Canadian historical memory, a place achieved without attaining its goal of an independent Quebec. Using new sources, this article explains this conundrum by reassessing the effectiveness of the FLQ's campaign. It will demonstrate that the very thing that constituted the FLQ's only success ‐ its ability to project an illusion of strength sufficient to convince the federal government that a popular insurrection was developing in Quebec ‐ masked its singular failure: organizational weakness and poor strategic judgment. These prevented the FLQ from achieving its goals and were the hallmarks of its status as ‘amateur revolutionaries’.     

Towards an Acceptable Level of Violence: Institutional Lessons From Northern Ireland

Institutional and economic development has recently returned to the forefront of economic analysis. The use of case studies (both historical and contemporary) has been important in this revival. Likewise, it has been argued recently by economic methodologists that historical context provides a kind of “laboratory” for the researcher interested in real world economic phenomena. Counterterrorism economics, in contrast with much of the rest of the literature on terrorism, has all too rarely drawn upon detailed contextual case studies. This article seeks to help remedy this problem. Archival evidence, including previously unpublished material on the DeLorean case, is an important feature of this article. The article examines how an inter-related strategy, which traded-off economic, security, and political considerations, operated during the Troubles. Economic repercussions of this strategy are discussed. An economic analysis of technical and organizational change within paramilitarism is also presented. A number of institutional lessons are discussed including: the optimal balance between carrot versus stick, centralization relative to decentralization, the economics of intelligence operations, and tit-for-tat violence. While existing economic models are arguably correct in identifying benefits from politico-economic decentralization, they downplay the element highlighted by institutional analysis.     

Talking with terrorists,talking with governments: insurgent perspectives on legitimisation and engagement

ABSTRACT

It is often claimed that “talking to terrorists legitimises terrorism”. But analysts too often assume that insurgents seek standard forms of liberal-legalistic legitimisation through engagement with the state. From a Weberian perspective, however, liberal-legalistic legitimacy is one of a myriad of symbolic and practical grounds for legitimisation. This paper takes a political sociological approach to the problem of legitimacy in “terrorist” conflicts through a comparative analysis of Irish republican and Basque separatist efforts to end the campaigns of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Basque Homeland and Freedom (ETA). There are three principal findings. First, violent insurgents often reject liberal-legalistic legitimatisation and instead seek recognition of their capacity to shape the trajectories of conflicts – and therefore recognition of their centrality to ending them. Second, the pursuit by violent insurgents for recognition of capacity often comes into conflict with their non-violent allies’ pursuit of liberal-legalistic legitimisation, which can hinder peace-making. Finally, the pursuit of these forms of legitimisation structure peace processes in that armed groups seeking recognition demand direct talks with governments, while legitimacy-seeking non-violent insurgents emphasise engagement with political parties and non-violent organisations. The relative balance between symbolic goals thus shapes the practice of peace-making in such conflicts.     

Visual rehumanisation: torture and terror in In the Name of the Father and Fifty Dead Men Walking

This article explores the use of torture by both state and non-state actors during the Northern Irish Troubles as visualised in two films, Jim Sheridan’s In the Name of the Father (1998) and Kari Skogland’s Fifty Dead Men Walking (2009). Using the concept of “acknowledgement” as developed by Stanley Cohen, this article argues that the visualisation of torture not only draws the issue out from the shadows, but challenges the dehumanisation process which can facilitate passive acceptance of the use of torture where there exists a threat to the integrity of the political and moral community.     

Problem,Process and Product: Implementing Key Reforms in Local Government in Northern Ireland Since the Belfast Agreement

This article maps the key findings from empirical research on how local government mainstreamed new statutory duties to promote equality and good relations in a change implementation process emerging from reform introduced in 1998 to embed the Northern Ireland peace process. It departs from the elite political focus of much of the international literature on peace building and addresses organisational change developments in a context that was intensely politicised, highly contentious and required radical organisational change. Newry and Mourne District Council addressed their problem of perceived inequality in employment, by engaging in a lengthy process of change and development to achieve ‘product’ in the form of a more balanced workforce, power sharing in the Chamber and more participative democratic arrangements for decision-making, both inside the organisation and in external relations. The key factors that facilitated this change process included the availability of political will, change champions, appropriate resources and structural adaptation.