From revolution to devolution: Is the IRA still a threat to peace in Northern Ireland?

Abstract:

Is the IRA still a threat to peace in Northern Ireland? Using the methods of strategic analysis, the author advances two interpretations of the IRA's current strategy, both of which stress the continuing value of organised violence in Republican strategic thinking. However, whereas the first interpretation contends that the IRA's current strategy contradicts the aims of the peace process, the second argues that the IRA's continued involvement in paramilitary activity serves the interests of those who want the Belfast Agreement to succeed. The article concludes that whether the IRA continues to be a threat to peace in Northern Ireland depends not so much on whether Republican involvement in paramilitary activity will continue, but what purpose it serves.