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Sowing Dragon’s Teeth: Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland

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  • Bernadette C. Hayes
  • Ian McAllister

Abstract

While much attention has been devoted to political efforts to solve the Northern Ireland problem, less attention has been given to the role of political violence in sustaining the conflict. We argue that one of the reasons for the intractability of the conflict is widespread exposure to political violence among the civil population. By 1998, thirty years after the conflict started, one in seven of the population reported being a victim of violence; one in five had a family member killed or injured; and one in four had been caught up in an explosion. Such widespread exposure to violence exists alongside latent support for paramilitarism among a significant minority of both communities. Using 1998 survey data, we show that exposure to violence serves to enhance public support for paramilitary groups, as well as to reduce support for the decommissioning of para‐military weapons. Overall, the results suggest that only a lengthy period without political violence will undermine support for paramilitarism and result in the decommissioning of weapons.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernadette C. Hayes & Ian McAllister, 2001. "Sowing Dragon’s Teeth: Public Support for Political Violence and Paramilitarism in Northern Ireland," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 49(5), pages 901-922, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:polstu:v:49:y:2001:i:5:p:901-922
    DOI: 10.1111/1467-9248.00346
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicolás Liendo & Jessica Maves Braithwaite, 2018. "Determinants of Colombian attitudes toward the peace process," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 35(6), pages 622-636, November.
    2. Isabel Ruiz & Carlos Vargas-Silva, 2022. "The legacies of armed conflict: insights from stayees and returning forced migrants," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-17, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Alessandro Belmonte, 2022. "Punishing or rallying ‘round the flag? Heterogeneous effects of terrorism in South Tyrol," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 536-563, November.
    4. Werner, Katharina, 2016. "Whom do people trust after a violent conflict? Experimental evidence from Maluku, Indonesia," Passauer Diskussionspapiere, Volkswirtschaftliche Reihe V-73-16, University of Passau, Faculty of Business and Economics.
    5. Daphna Canetti & Julia Elad-Strenger & Iris Lavi & Dana Guy & Daniel Bar-Tal, 2017. "Exposure to Violence, Ethos of Conflict, and Support for Compromise," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 61(1), pages 84-113, January.
    6. Eran Zaidise & Daphna Canetti‐Nisim & Ami Pedahzur, 2007. "Politics of God or Politics of Man? The Role of Religion and Deprivation in Predicting Support for Political Violence in Israel," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 55(3), pages 499-521, October.
    7. Chad Hazlett, 2020. "Angry or Weary? How Violence Impacts Attitudes toward Peace among Darfurian Refugees," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 64(5), pages 844-870, May.
    8. Juan Fernando Tellez, 2019. "Worlds Apart: Conflict Exposure and Preferences for Peace," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 63(4), pages 1053-1076, April.
    9. Alex Braithwaite & Tiffany S. Chu & Justin Curtis & Faten Ghosn, 2019. "Violence and the perception of risk associated with hosting refugees," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 473-492, March.
    10. Daniel Chigudu, 2022. "Post Burundi’s armed conflict and trust issues in land redistribution: Towards peacebuilding," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(4), pages 300-309, June.

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