Background to the Research

• In 1997, Professor Robert White examined data on the extent and nature of Irish republican violence and concluded that the IRA is not sectarian but that loyalist paramilitaries are. In this article the author revisits White's work and explores incidences of communal conflict in order to argue that sectarianism is endemic in NI and to question the wisdom of categorising victims in terms of one social identity.
  

Research Approach

• The author using official statistics on death and injury due to terrorism and secondary data analysis in order to support his argument.
  

Main Findings

• White argues that the republican cause is mainly a political one in which violence is primarily directed against the British presence in NI, where loyalist violence is directed against a community. White cites the evidence of republicans that they do not hate Protestants, only the British government.
• The data used by White on the victims of political violence is highly contentious. Paramilitary organisations regularly deny a victim was a member of their organisation. Paramilitaries can claim an individual belonged to an organisation or was involved in an activity without needing to show evidence of such involvement. It can be difficult to ascertain who the actual intended target of an attack is and to judge whether terrorists view 'unintentional' deaths as acceptable or regrettable.
• White is correct in his observation that a greater proportion of the IRA's victims fit into the category of 'legitimate' targets. However, a much more complicated picture emerges when one tries to uncover the motives behind these murders.
• It can be argued that because the IRA is fighting against the state, it has a larger group of visible legitimate targets available to it in the form of security forces and therefore has greater opportunity to carry out acts of violence against legitimate targets and therefore is more likely to hit a target.
• In contrast, loyalists - the pro-state terrorists - have a more difficult task in finding and attacking legitimate targets, because the IRA is a largely invisible force.
• The methods of loyalist violence means that incompetence inflates innocent civilian targets; their targets are less easily identified and their methods tend to be less sophisticated. The IRA usually target members of the security forces, mistakes will more often result in no civilian casualties and their bomb-making is more advanced ensuring greater numbers of dead.
• When exploring the intentions of paramilitaries, researchers are heavily reliant on the rhetoric of those carrying out the violent acts. It is possible to reduce the number of incidents of attacks by the IRA if we are influenced by their declaration that they try to avoid civilian casualties.
• White concludes that the data on the killing of Catholic and Protestant policeman by the IRA shows that republicans target policemen and not policemen of a certain religion. However, Catholic policemen may be less available as targets because they make up a small proportion of the police force, they may be more security conscious and work and live in low risk areas.
• White's argument rests on the observation that the IRA kills soldiers, and the UDA/UVF kills civilians. However, 'British Forces' and Ulster Protestants are not mutually exclusive categories. For example, the data show about 32% of the 'British forces' victims were members or ex-members of the RUC and UDR or prison officers. These were almost all local people and Protestant. The IRA does not accept this unity of identity of Ulster Protestants who engage in occupations and activities as loyal citizens of the United Kingdom.
• The republican movement regards the British presence in NI as illegitimate and it also regards the Irish Republic as an illegitimate state. However, attacks on the state or its representatives in the Republic of Ireland are rare and when they occur they are heavily condemned by nationalists and republicans. Therefore, there is a hierarchy of preference for targeting that is based on ethnicity.
• When the circumstances of killings, rather than the raw data of political murder are explored, a picture emerges in which republicans view Protestant civilian casualties and damage to their property as more acceptable than Catholic deaths and property damage. Much of the IRA's bombing campaign was waged in predominately Protestant towns and targeted at buildings regarded as representative of the British state, but which also have important symbolic and cultural meaning for Protestants.
• Sectarianism is widespread in NI, rioting, intimidation and vandalism are common experiences for both Catholics and Protestants. Whilst representatives of both republican and loyalist groups may condemn these actions, they allow them to continue because this situation maintains tensions and they can be seen to be defending their respective communities.
• It can be argued that White misunderstands the goal of republicanism which is the expulsion of the British presence out of NI and re-unification of Ireland, the republican movement's perceptions of the place of Ulster Protestants in this new state is ambiguous.
• The strategies and aims of republican and loyalist paramilitaries differ but each is premised on targeting and killing of members of the opposite ethnic group.