Counter Extremism in Ireland: An Overview of the Landscape

• Author: Orla Lynch
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221138673
• Published date: 01 February 2023
• Date: 01 February 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862221138673

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2023, Vol. 39(1) 58 –74

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/10439862221138673

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Article

Counter Extremism in

Ireland: An Overview of the

Landscape

Orla Lynch1

Abstract

This article addresses how the legacy of the conflict known as the Troubles affects how

we conceive of and respond to terrorism and political violence (TPV) on the island of

Ireland. It will focus on how dominant frameworks such as those that emerged after

9/11 led to what has become a two-tiered system of counterterrorism and counter

extremism: one for Troubles-linked extremism and one for Islamic-linked extremism.

Focusing on issues of ideology, radicalization, motivation, legislation, and particularly

prison regimes, this article will examine how Northern Ireland and the Republic of

Ireland frame and respond to TPV. In addition, this article will highlight how, what

is termed Preventing Violence Extremism (PVE) and Countering Violent Extremism

(CVE), manifests in Ireland in response to pre- and post-9/11 instances of TPV and,

finally, how lessons from Ireland might be relevant for addressing political violence

beyond the island.

Keywords

extremism, Ireland, PVE, CVE, terrorism

Introduction

Since 2001, the 9/11 attacks have become the lens through which we view terrorism

and political violence (TPV; Douai & Lauricella, 2014). The attacks led to a reorganiza-

tion of national security priorities whereby terrorism became perceived as the strategic

threat to many Western countries. However, this threat was seen as emerging predomi-

nantly from terrorism linked to Islam that manifest as Al Qaeda, Islamic State of Iraq

and Syria (ISIS), and their affiliates. Perhaps one of the most significant impacts of the

1University College Cork, Ireland

Corresponding Author:

Orla Lynch, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, University College Cork, Cork T12 K8AF, Ireland.

Email: Orla.lynch@ucc.ie

1138673CCJXXX10.1177/10439862221138673Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeLynch

research-article2022

Lynch 59

Al Qaeda attacks in the United States in 2001 was the broad acceptance that Islamic-

linked terrorism was a de facto phenomenon rather than an evaluation based on political

and cultural (and pejorative) narratives (Jackson, 2007). The 9/11 attacks shaped coun-

terterrorism and later counter-extremism laws and policies, entirely influenced by the

perception that an extremist Islamic ideology was one of the (if not the) main issues to

be addressed in responding to and preventing terrorism (Roach, 2011). This framing

was largely adopted wholesale in the literature on terrorism and we developed what

might be regarded as tunnel vision; groups such as Al Qaeda and later ISIS grabbed the

headlines in 2001 and have never really receded, even when other ideological forms of

extremism should have captured our attention (Ahmed & Lynch, 2021). The continued

existence and rise of TPV linked to other ideologies, such as separatism (Ahmed &

Lynch, 2022), the far right (Koehler, 2021; Schuurman, 2015), single issue attacks, and

nationalism (Horgan & Morrison, 2011) has suffered comparative neglect in the years

since 2001.

Perhaps even more relevant in the framing of the terrorist threat is the recent work

by Koehler (2021) on side switching, where he focuses on the surprisingly common

process of extremist actors1 changing sides or effectively switching their ideology to

that of their once outgroup; in other words, his work demonstrates the fluidity of ideol-

ogy as a motivator and an explainer of terrorism and extremism. In effect, he points out

that categorizing TPV into definitive categories (e.g., Islamic, nationalist, or right wing)

based on a loosely defined ideology is problematic. His work demonstrates as fallacy

the notion that ideology serves to explain one’s motivation to get involved in TPV and,

particularly, how problematic responding to TPV based solely on ideology can be.

Despite this, ideology remains a central framework for our understanding of TPV and

this is particularly visible in the assumptions inherent in Countering Violent Extremism

(CVE) and Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) initiatives, as will be discussed later.

In light of these conditions, this article addresses how terrorism is conceived of and

responded to in Ireland. In particular it will examine how dominant frameworks, such

as those that emerged after 9/11, led to what has become a two-tiered system of coun-

terterrorism and counter extremism; one for TPV linked to the conflict in Northern

Ireland, known as the Troubles, and another for post 9/11 political violence linked to

Islam. In addition, this article will highlight how what is termed PVE and CVE mani-

fests in Ireland in response to pre- and post-9/11 TPV and, finally, how lessons from

Ireland might be relevant for addressing terrorism outside of the island.

Setting the Scene—The Troubles

The island of Ireland has for long experienced TPV, predominantly linked to the con-

stitutional status of six counties in the North East of the island. These counties, known

collectively as Northern Ireland, were partitioned in 1921; they became part of the

United Kingdom, while the remaining 26 counties formed what ultimately became the

Republic of Ireland (English, 2003). The status of these six counties has been con-

tested ever since and this contestation manifests as a conflict known colloquially as the

Troubles; the violence lasted from 1969 to 1998 when more than 3,500 people were