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Informers and the transition in Northern Ireland

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 14:14 authored by Ron Dudai
Though criminological literature has paid attention to the use of informers in ordinary law enforcement, there is a research gap regarding their usage in contexts of conflict and political violence. This article explores the social, political and security functions of IRA informers in the transition from conflict in Northern Ireland. Based on that experience, it develops four heuristic models regarding informers that the paper argues may be of direct relevance to other conflicted and transitional societies. These are the informer as folk devil, the informer as rumour, the informer as political manipulator, and the informer as celebrity. All these themes demonstrate the long-term effects of the use of informers during the Northern Ireland conflict—an important finding given the increasing prevalence of the use of informers in a political context

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

British Journal of Criminology

ISSN

0007-0955

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Issue

1

Volume

52

Page range

32-54

Department affiliated with

  • Law Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2013-01-22

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