Northern   Ireland   Research   Initiative (NIRI)
  • Home
  • Overview
  • The Project
  • Source Material
  • Data
  • Core Personnel
    • Current Project Personnel
  • Publications
  • Videos
  • NIRI Blog
  • Contact
  • Readings
  • Research Affiliates

Research  questions  of  interest

The information compiled in this project will be used to answer a variety of questions important for not just understanding the "Troubles" but for understanding political violence more broadly.

The Importance of Tactics 

How did violence vary across space and time?  Why?

What other types of actions took place?

What is missed by just paying attention to the violence?

How were the violent and non-violent actions related to one another (if at all)?


The Role of Bonds

What role did familial connections play in the conflict?

Did aggression directed against a family member or friend increase or decrease one's willingness to engage in subsequent aggression?  

Did it matter which family member or how good the friend was?

How did the loss of a family member, friend or neighbor influence the survivor?  politically, economically, psychologically?


The Role of Context

Was participation in the conflict related to poverty?

Was participation in the conflict related to degrees of religiousity?

Was participation in the conflict related to the degree of proximity to "others"?

Was participation in the conflict related to the degree of proximity to "others"?


The Role of Agents

Were specific armed units more violent than others?  Why?

What determined variation in behavior within the same armed units?


The Role of Memory

What is remembered?

What is forgotten?

What about the "Troubles" is displayed in film, music and literature?


The Possibility of Peace

Given what occurred and what was experienced, what do survivors think about the prospect of peace?