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Abstract

This paper examines the potential for grass-roots community outreach programs as the main avenue for combating the influence of dissident groups in post-conflict Northern Ireland. This paper incorporates studies on radicalisation and politically motivated violent crime in order to identify key issues relevant to counterradicalisation policy. While the term radicalisation has controversial elements due to its development in response to stochastic Islamic terrorism, this paper defines radicalisation only as the psychological process by which an individual engages with violent extremism. Societies in the transition from conflict to post-conflict require an avenue to deal with the legacy of the past. Transitional justice studies emphasises the importance of truth commissions as this avenue. However there has been little support in Northern Ireland for such a process. Instead local-level grass-roots initiatives have created the programs necessary for each community to express their ‘truth’ in regard to the conflict. This paper examines the community crisis narrative as a primary socio-cultural factor which contributes to the process of radicalisation. This factor has been identified in a number of radicalisation studies and interviews with ex-paramilitarians. Moreover it encompasses the themes of community victimisation and threat, which is consistent with studies that do not specifically mention a community crisis narrative. Grass-roots initiatives have proven effective at fostering cross-community dialogue and thereby reducing the legitimacy of the community crisis narrative. This paper examines the socio-cultural factors which contribute to engaging with violent extremism. Although poverty is broadly rejected as an indicator of violence, there is evidence of, specifically, unemployment’s impact on violence. Community outreach projects can create employment opportunities for individuals who are trapped in the cycle of criminality.

Course: International Relations - BA (Hons)

Date Deposited: 2021-03-11

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13680.html