Regulating Northern Ireland
The Special Powers Acts, 1922–1972
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8069621 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Laura K Donohue (0000-0002-1346-2840, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 1089-1120 |
| Publication date | 1998-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Historical Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0018246x98008188 |
| OpenAlex | W2131837726 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
Although the 1922–43 Special Powers Acts (SPAs) played a central role in prompting the Northern Irish civil rights movement in the late 1960s, virtually no secondary literature exists on the operation of the statutes. This article examines the manner in which the unionist government employed the acts during the tenure of the northern parliament. It suggests that the 1922–43 SPAs became a central grievance of the minority community because of the manner in which regulations introduced under their auspices were exercised: the ministry of home affairs initially used the emergency statutes to return civil order to the province; however, as violence declined the government began to utilize regulations to prevent the expression of republican ideals. Any attempt to garner support for a united Ireland was perceived as an attack on the Northern Irish constitution. Concurrent with this shift was a change in justification for the 1922–43 SPAs: from being required in order to establish law and order in the face of rising violence, they were soon heralded by unionists as necessary to maintain the constitutional structure of the North. In preventing the public exposition of republicanism, expressions of nationalism were likewise limited. This impacted upon a large portion of the minority community, giving rise to claims that the statutes were being unfairly applied
Constitution · Government (linguistics · Grievance · Irish · Nationalism · Parliament · Political science · Politics · Statute · Irish and British Studies · Law · Public Administration
Select bibliography and notes on sources
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Economic Aid and Conflict Transformation in Northern Ireland and the Border Area
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Northern Ireland and minimum force
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,53 |
| Citation span | 2011 - 2024 (14) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |