British counterinsurgency in Northern Ireland.

• Main Author: Toh, Teck Lee.
• Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Military and naval science::Strategy
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/38898
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Northern Ireland had been one of the longest running insurgencies in the world. It took almost 30 years from the start of open insurgency to it de facto conclusion. This paper attempts to investigate why, with Britain's extensive counterinsurgency experiences, they took so long to come to an effective resolution. The paper will begin by defining what insurgency is, and then specify the starting and ending point to the insurgency in Northern Ireland, thus setting the context for the argument. Subsequently, the paper will argue that the problem with Northern Ireland revolves around the political impasse which was further compounded by the mistakes made by security forces, especially during the early days of The Troubles.