Home Institution
Carleton College
Publication Date
Fall 2012
Abstract
I conducted my research for this paper during a three-‐week internship at the Pat Finucane Center in Derry. I gathered evidence from a series of declassified British government documents provided to me by the center. I focus my study on the British government’s attitude towards sectarian assassinations, particularly committed by loyalist paramilitaries, in the first part of the 1970’s. I examine the issues of responding to international pressure, framing the problem, evaluating security force effectiveness, and screening strategies. I find that in the public sphere, the British government hid information to downplay the severity of loyalist-‐led murder campaigns and instigated policies that did little to curb the violence. I also analyze the role the Pat Finucane Center played in shaping my work and argue for the utility of conducting research in an activist environment.
Disciplines
Critical and Cultural Studies | Policy History, Theory, and Methods | Politics and Social Change | Social Influence and Political Communication
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Hannah, "Death Squads and Diplomacy: An Investigation of British Attitudes Towards Sectarian Assassinations in the 1970’s" (2012). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 1438.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/1438
Included in
Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
Program Name
Ireland: Transformation of Social and Political Conflict