Armalite tactics with ballot boxes ( English Armalite and ballot box strategy ) - a strategy proposed by the Irish Republican movement in the 1980s - early 1990s [1] and consisting in the participation of the Sinn Fein party in the elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland coupled with the simultaneous continuation of the armed struggle of the Irish Republican Army against the British troops , the Ulster police and the Ulster loyalists [2] . The strategy partially contradicted the nominal ideology of the Republicans: several IRA supporters, outraged by such a strategy, left the party and formed a separate political wing of the “ Republicans Sinn Fein ” in 1986 . The name Armalite in tactics is taken in honor of the automatic rifles AR-15 and AR-18 , which the Irish Republican Army used in battles with the British and actively purchased them [3] .
History
The decision to approve the strategy was influenced by the 1981 Irish hunger strike , the success of Bobby Sands in the UK Parliamentary elections from the counties of Ferman and Tyrone , as well as a number of hunger strikes ahead of the parliamentary elections in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The strategy was first formulated by Danny Morrison at the annual convention in 1981:
Who here generally believes that we can win the war with ballot boxes? Although, would anyone mind if we, with the ballot in one hand and Armalite in the other, seize power in Ireland?
Original textWho here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland ? [four]
The strategy has led to partial success. Sinn Fein gained 9 to 13% of the vote in Northern Ireland, gaining some recognition on the international stage, but was seriously inferior in popularity to the Social Democratic and Labor parties in nationalist circles: the votes of Sinn Fein in the elections were the only consequence of the emotions that developed after the Irish hunger strike. In the long run, the strategy has led people to first talk about a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Northern Ireland [5] . When the governments of Great Britain and Ireland entered into an Anglo-Irish agreement , Sinn Fein was convinced that it was realistic to achieve goals without violence. However, there were those who condemned a similar strategy, which led to the loss of 16 Sinn Fein in parliament in 1989 and the personal defeat of Jerry Adams in the 1992 elections, and relied solely on the political struggle.
In 1994 and 1997, after the ceasefire, the opinion in Northern Ireland of further adhering to the Armalite strategy and ballot boxes was divided. However, over time, the prevailing opinion among the public about the cessation of armed struggle and the lay down of arms. One of the reasons was that the Ulster Defense Association began to act in a similar way: John McMichael thereby managed to establish the Ulster Democratic Party [6] [7] . However, to the disappointment of the loyalists, they, together with the unionists, were not able to gain 1% in the 1996 elections to the Northern Ireland Forum [8] .
Notes
- ↑ McAllister Ian. 'The Armalite and the ballot box': Sinn Fein's electoral strategy in Northern Ireland // Electoral Studies. - 2004. - March ( t. 23 , No. 1 ). - S. 123-142 . - ISSN 0261-3794 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.electstud.2003.10.002 .
- ↑ Provisional IRA: War, ceasefire, endgame? . BBC Date of treatment March 13, 2014.
- ↑ J. Bowyer Bell. The IRA, 1968-2000: Analysis of a Secret Army . - Taylor & Francis, 2000 .-- P. 183.
- ↑ English, Richard. Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA . - Oxford University Press, 2005. - P. 224–225. - ISBN 978-0-19-517753-4 .
- ↑ A Secret History of the IRA, 2nd Edition, Page 33, Ed Moloney, Penguin Books, 2002, 2007.
- ↑ McDonald, Henry. UDA: inside the heart of Loyalist terror / Henry McDonald, Jim Cusack. - Penguin Ireland, 2004. - P. 121. - ISBN 978-1-84488-020-1 .
- ↑ Dillon, Martin. The Trigger Men: Assassins and Terror Bosses in the Ireland Conflict . - Mainstream Publishing, October 14, 2011. - P. 31–32. - ISBN 978-1-78057-376-2 .
- ↑ Norris, Pippa. Framing Terrorism: The News Media, the Government and the Public / Pippa Norris, Montague Kern, Marion Just. - Routledge, 2013 .-- P. 65. - ISBN 978-1-135-93822-2 .