Ireland's terrorism victims: a new strand of civil society counterterrorism?

Abstract

Despite being hailed as a global conflict resolution model, Northern Ireland's trajectory from 30-year conflict to coalition government remains particularly volatile. The Good Friday peace Agreement of 1998 controversially absorbed former terrorists into the structures of power-sharing government. Dealing with the lingering legacy of atrocities upon conflict victims by those now in power continues to threaten the sustainability of such governing structures. Unexpectedly, the terrorism victims and survivors sector has emerged as an active and dynamic agent for accountability, strategic civil society counterterrorism, and a means of embedding the Irish peace process. It has provided a compelling counter-narrative to the freedom fighters characteristic claim of paramilitaries, with victims engaging such representatives in contests surrounding legitimacy and justice redress. Such examples now inspire similar international efforts as an alternative yet viable strand of the multifaceted counterterrorism dynamic. This article particularly emphasises empirical cases and with due regard to theoretical analysis to support the claim that terrorism victims’ voices constructively inform new societies’ reconfigurations when emerging from a violent past. Consequently, improving the foundations, integrity and support of the post-conflict environment, strengthens the likelihood of ultimately making peace last.

Keywords:

• accountability
• counterterrorism
• victims

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributor

Peter F. Kelly is Media & Program Manager at the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD) in Washington, DC. Originally from Northern Ireland, he has spoken at international counter terrorism conferences throughout Europe, South America and Australia, and at universities across the USA. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the September 11th survivors association “Strength to Strength Global” in New York. This article was structured from research submitted per requirements for the Master of Arts degree in International Peace Studies from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, USA.