The Rocky Road to Decommissioning
Revisiting the Decommissioning of Irish Republican Army Weapons Part 1 – August 1994 to October 2001
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12112366 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Leahy (0000-0003-2046-3339, Cardiff University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 578-608 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Irish Political Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0790-7184 • E-ISSN: 1743-9078 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/07907184.2025.2584833 |
| OpenAlex | W4416144667 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 21 |
Decommissioning of paramilitary weapons formed a crucial part of Northern Ireland’s peace process. But the decommissioning of Irish Republican Army (IRA) weapons (the most prominent paramilitary group) was protracted prior to their first decommissioning act in October 2001. Some scholars argue Republicans deliberately strung-out decommissioning to gain concessions. Others concur but also suggest additional factors, including Irish Republican anger at the slow delivery of British reforms. Using the latest Irish and UK archival releases alongside memoirs and interviews, I provide fresh insight into IRA decommissioning up to October 2001. The central problem was the initial lack of movement on political and security reforms by the British Government and Ulster Unionists. As the conflict ended in a stalemate, Republicans believed political and security reforms were required alongside decommissioning. The Good Friday Agreement also stipulated that decommissioning would be paralleled by other reforms. This article uniquely explains how a British Government sense of neutrality towards managing the peace process alongside the British Army’s reluctance to demilitarise stalled decommissioning. It offers ideas on how not to introduce and initially manage decommissioning during peace processes
Government (linguistics · Irish · Neutrality · Nuclear decommissioning · Politics · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Peacebuilding and International Security · Torture, Ethics, and Law
Performing the Northern Ireland Peace Process
The Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland
Rethinking the Nexus
Issue hierarchies in peace processes
Sticking to Their Guns? The Politics of Arms Decommissioning in Northern Ireland, 1998–2007
Emerging from the shadow of war
We Shout at Each Other, But We’re Not Shooting Each Other”
The Dynamic of Irwin's Forgotten Army
Decommissioning and paramilitary strategy in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Independent Commissions and Contentious Issues in Post-Good Friday Agreement Northern Ireland
The Longest Negotiation
Decommissioning and the Peace Process
Encountering research in Northern Ireland
The Process of Demilitarization and the Reversibility of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |