REPRESSION AND THE LIBERAL STATE - THE CASE OF NORTHERN-IRELAND, 1969-1972

There is a tendency for research on state repression to focus on nonde mocratic and non-Western states. The authors assume that all states ar e repressive and focus on state repression in Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. They also distinguish between the repressive a ctivities of state authorities and the repressive activities of indivi dual state agents. In general, they uncover important differences in s tate repression as perpetrated by state authorities versus state repre ssion as perpetrated by individual state agents. The authors also find that the ethnic minority population in this Western democracy was mor e likely to suffer from state repression than was the ethnic majority population, and they find that state repression was strongly influence d by economic conditions.