‘See no evil’: collusion in Northern Ireland

Abstract

The publication of the official report into the 1994 Loughinisland massacre, when loyalist gunmen shot dead six people in a small, rural bar, provides an opportunity to examine the nature of institutionalised collusion, the state practices it involved and the sectarianized social order which made it possible during the conflict in Northern Ireland. Building on an earlier analysis of the colonial and counterinsurgency roots of collusion (Race and Class, 57:2) this article provides a commentary on the findings of the Loughinisland report and explores two issues. The first concerns new evidence (directly contradicting earlier official inquiries) of state collusion in the importation of arms used by loyalists to escalate their campaign of assassination in this period. Second, the extent to which collusive practices facilitated the actions of loyalist paramilitaries and confounded the investigation of the mass killings at Loughinisland as elsewhere. In terms of both (it will be argued) there is a need to place an understanding of collusion in the wider context of a social order shaped by long-term sectarianized social divisions and violence, embedded in localised power structures, that framed the very institutions and agencies of the state, not least the police and other state forces.

State violence, empire, and the figure of the “soldier-victim” in Northern Ireland

“…Roughly 10% were attributed to state forces—both the British Army and the local police force, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). There have, in addition, been longstanding allegations of state involvement and collusion in deaths attributed to paramilitaries—particularly (although not exclusively) killings by loyalists (McGovern, , , ; Punch, ; Rolston, ). At the conflict's end, roughly 2,000 deaths remained unsolved and without anyone having been held responsible.…”

Vilification, vigilantism and violence

“…The relationship between new technologies and crime has been a growing focus of criminology. 3 Recent research has explored policing and new media, 4 sexting, 5 revenge porn, 6 sexual assault survivors' use of social media, 7 the use of social media to expose police misconduct 8 and the growth of what has been referred to as 'anti-social' media such as fight pages. 9 Indeed, a range of criminal activities have been aided by new media technology, such as identity theft, online fraud, hacking, cyberbullying and the activities of criminal gangs and terrorist networks.…”