NCJ Number
158495
Journal
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism Volume: 18 Issue: 3 Dated: (July- September 1995) Pages: 187-202
Date Published
1995
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This paper examines Irish loyalist thinking just prior to and since the ceasefires called by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the two loyalist paramilitary organizations, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and the Ulster Defense Association (UDA), in 1994.
Abstract
The analysis also considers the prospects for the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party, the fringe political parties associated with the loyalist paramilitary. Representatives of the UDA and UVF explain their violence by asserting the rights to avenge republican attacks and provide a counterbalance to whatever advantage the enemies of the government acquire through terror. However, the nature, extent, and purpose of the violence have been debated within these organizations since their formation. The diversity of opinion within the UDA and UVF explains the apparently paradoxical responses to the recent political developments. As of spring 1995, unionist politics are delicately balanced. Despite opposition to the proposals of the Framework for the Future, a return to violence will become more difficult the longer the ceasefire continues, and unionists will become more likely to negotiate something like the framework proposals. It seems clear that the loyalist paramilitaries have retired; in the absence of republican terrorist activities, no constitutional crisis is likely to provoke a return to violence, because the UDA and UVF members and communities have too long borne the costs of opposing nationalism. 2 reference notes (Author summary modified)