Northern Ireland and minimum force: the refutation of a concept?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Northern Ireland and minimum force

T2 - the refutation of a concept?

AU - Morgan, B. W.

AU - Smith, M. L. R.

PY - 2016/2/5

Y1 - 2016/2/5

N2 - The debate over whether there exists a British counter-insurgency tradition of minimum force is one that has been thoroughly discussed. Is there anything left to say? This study suggests there is further insight to be attained if one explicitly evaluates the concept of minimum force in relation to the conduct of the security forces in the years of the Northern Ireland conflict. Through an examination of three key periods in the conflict, it will be shown that while there was invariably an awareness of the need to act with restraint among senior officers at the strategic level, this was often difficult to apply at the tactical level in the heat of confrontation. The argument demonstrates that the British Army, and other instruments of the state, rarely acted in a manner that could be described as ‘minimal’. Instead, it was the broader liberal values of the British state that explains largely the degrees of restraint exhibited by the government and security forces.

AB - The debate over whether there exists a British counter-insurgency tradition of minimum force is one that has been thoroughly discussed. Is there anything left to say? This study suggests there is further insight to be attained if one explicitly evaluates the concept of minimum force in relation to the conduct of the security forces in the years of the Northern Ireland conflict. Through an examination of three key periods in the conflict, it will be shown that while there was invariably an awareness of the need to act with restraint among senior officers at the strategic level, this was often difficult to apply at the tactical level in the heat of confrontation. The argument demonstrates that the British Army, and other instruments of the state, rarely acted in a manner that could be described as ‘minimal’. Instead, it was the broader liberal values of the British state that explains largely the degrees of restraint exhibited by the government and security forces.

KW - British Army

KW - counter-insurgency

KW - Minimum force

KW - Northern Ireland

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84957795020&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/09592318.2016.1122907

DO - 10.1080/09592318.2016.1122907

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84957795020

SN - 0959-2318

VL - 27

SP - 81

EP - 105

JO - Small Wars and Insurgencies

JF - Small Wars and Insurgencies

IS - 1

ER -