The Fenian Problem: Insurgency and Terrorism in a Liberal State, 1858-1874 - Hardcover

Brian Jenkins

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1846311756 ISBN 13: 9781846311758

Publisher: Liverpool University Press, 2009

Synopsis

This book compares the government's treatment of Fenian prisoners in the 1860s and their handling of the IRA in the 1970s. Highly topical, the book exposes the similarities with the challenges presented by Islamic insurgents. It provides new information on the emergence of counter terrorism techniques. Irish revolutionary nationalism, initially dedicated to insurgency, quickly descended into less conventional violence. How successive British governments responded to this challenge and the extent of their respect for essential freedoms are the subject of "The Fenian Problem". Dramatic and tragic rescues of arrested Fenian leaders, the formation of a Fenian squad to engage in assassinations of suspected informers and policemen, the bombing of a London prison that brought death and destruction to a neighbouring street, public executions of several Fenians, the quality of British justice, and the struggle to develop counter-terrorism policies and an effective system of intelligence form the core of "The Fenian Problem". Brian Jenkins adds new information to the established narrative of the movement, arguing that it resorted to terrorism in its pursuit of Irish independence. Jenkins discusses both the parallels between the government's treatment of Fenian prisoners in the 1860s and their handling of the IRA in the 1970S and the similarities between the challenges posed by Fenians and those presented by Islamic insurgents, showing that nineteenth-century British and Irish history illuminate contemporary discussions of state security and liberal government responses to terrorism.

About this title

About the Author

Brian Jenkins is emeritus professor of history, Bishop's University, and the author of numerous books, including Era of Emancipation and Irish Nationalism and the British State.

Edition details

• Publisher: Liverpool University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1846311756
• ISBN 13: 9781846311758
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 456