Armalite and ballot box strategy
Encyclopedia
The Armalite and ballot box strategy was a strategy pursued by the Irish republican
movement in the 1980s and early 1990s in which elections in Northern Ireland
and the Republic of Ireland
were contested by Sinn Féin
, while the IRA
continued to pursue an armed struggle against the British Army
, the Royal Ulster Constabulary
, and loyalist
paramilitary groups. This strategy was a matter of some controversy within republicanism, some IRA members and supporters who disagreed with the strategy left to form Republican Sinn Féin
in 1986. Armalite refers to the AR-18
assault rifle (originally manufactured by the Armalite
corporation). The IRA smuggled significant quantities of AR-18s into Northern Ireland during the early 1970s and the "Armalite" became a symbol of republican armed struggle.
The strategy emerged after the 1981 Irish hunger strike
as a response to the electoral success of Bobby Sands
in the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election and pro-hunger strike campaigners in the Northern Ireland local elections and Republic of Ireland
Dáil Éireann
elections of the same year. It was first formulated by Sinn Féin organiser Danny Morrison at the party's Ard Fheis
(Annual Conference) in 1981, when he said:
The strategy was a mixed success. Sinn Féin had a solid core of 9-13 percent of the vote in Northern Ireland, which gave the party some credibility on the international stage. However at home it highlighted the dominance at the time of the non-violent Social Democratic and Labour Party
(SDLP) in Northern nationalist
politics, while Sinn Féin's vote in the Republic remained tiny once the emotion generated by the 1981 hunger strike subsided. In the longer term, it had two important political consequences, each of which fed in to the emergent Northern Ireland peace process
. When the governments of the UK and the Republic of Ireland
drafted the Anglo-Irish Agreement
, this convinced many in Sinn Féin that it was possible to make political gains without violence. However, some would also argue that electoral setbacks suffered by Sinn Féin, such as the loss of 16 of the party's 59 council seats in 1989 and the defeat of Gerry Adams
in the Belfast West constituency
in 1992, pushed the emphasis of the Republican movement away from the Armalite
and towards an election-focused strategy.
Since the IRA ceasefires of 1994 and 1997, opinion in Northern Ireland remained characteristically divided on whether the armalite and ballot box strategy had been abandoned. However, with the abandonment of large scale political violence; complete decommissioning by the IRA; and a statement from the Army Council that 'the war is over', the majority of unionists have overcome their innate scepticism to believe that it has.
The strategy has also been attributed as having inspired members of the Loyalist Ulster Defence Association
such as John McMichael
to seek a similar route into electoral politics through vehicles such as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party
. However, parties directly linked to Loyalist paramilitaries have had minimal success in elections in Northern Ireland.
Irish Republicanism
Irish republicanism is an ideology based on the belief that all of Ireland should be an independent republic.In 1801, under the Act of Union, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
movement in the 1980s and early 1990s in which elections in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
and the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
were contested by Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
, while the IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
continued to pursue an armed struggle against the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
, and loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
paramilitary groups. This strategy was a matter of some controversy within republicanism, some IRA members and supporters who disagreed with the strategy left to form Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin or RSF is an unregisteredAlthough an active movement, RSF is not registered as a political party in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. minor political party operating in Ireland. It emerged in 1986 as a result of a split in Sinn Féin...
in 1986. Armalite refers to the AR-18
AR-18
The AR-18 is a gas operated, selective fire assault rifle chambered for 5.56x45mm ammunition. The AR-18 was designed at ArmaLite in California by Arthur Miller, George Sullivan, and Charles Dorchester in 1963 as an improved alternative to the AR-15 design, which had just been selected by the U.S....
assault rifle (originally manufactured by the Armalite
ArmaLite
ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...
corporation). The IRA smuggled significant quantities of AR-18s into Northern Ireland during the early 1970s and the "Armalite" became a symbol of republican armed struggle.
The strategy emerged after the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
as a response to the electoral success of Bobby Sands
Bobby Sands
Robert Gerard "Bobby" Sands was an Irish volunteer of the Provisional Irish Republican Army and member of the United Kingdom Parliament who died on hunger strike while imprisoned in HM Prison Maze....
in the April 1981 Fermanagh and South Tyrone by-election and pro-hunger strike campaigners in the Northern Ireland local elections and Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann is the lower house, but principal chamber, of the Oireachtas , which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann . It is directly elected at least once in every five years under the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote...
elections of the same year. It was first formulated by Sinn Féin organiser Danny Morrison at the party's Ard Fheis
Ard Fheis
Ardfheis or Ard Fheis is the name used by many Irish political parties for their annual party conference. The term was first used by Conradh na Gaeilge, the Irish language cultural organisation, for its annual convention....
(Annual Conference) in 1981, when he said:
Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with a ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
?
The strategy was a mixed success. Sinn Féin had a solid core of 9-13 percent of the vote in Northern Ireland, which gave the party some credibility on the international stage. However at home it highlighted the dominance at the time of the non-violent Social Democratic and Labour Party
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a social-democratic, Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. Its basic party platform advocates Irish reunification, and the further devolution of powers while Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom...
(SDLP) in Northern nationalist
Irish nationalism
Irish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
politics, while Sinn Féin's vote in the Republic remained tiny once the emotion generated by the 1981 hunger strike subsided. In the longer term, it had two important political consequences, each of which fed in to the emergent Northern Ireland peace process
Northern Ireland peace process
The peace process, when discussing the history of Northern Ireland, is often considered to cover the events leading up to the 1994 Provisional Irish Republican Army ceasefire, the end of most of the violence of the Troubles, the Belfast Agreement, and subsequent political developments.-Towards a...
. When the governments of the UK and the Republic of Ireland
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Ireland is a parliamentary, representative democratic republic and a member state of the European Union. While the head of state is the popularly elected President of Ireland, this is a largely ceremonial position with real political power being vested in the indirectly elected Taoiseach who is...
drafted the Anglo-Irish Agreement
Anglo-Irish Agreement
The Anglo-Irish Agreement was an agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland which aimed to help bring an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland...
, this convinced many in Sinn Féin that it was possible to make political gains without violence. However, some would also argue that electoral setbacks suffered by Sinn Féin, such as the loss of 16 of the party's 59 council seats in 1989 and the defeat of Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams
Gerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
in the Belfast West constituency
Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast West is a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.-Boundaries:The seat was restored in 1922 when as part of the establishment of the devolved Stormont Parliament for Northern Ireland, the number of MPs in the Westminster Parliament was drastically cut...
in 1992, pushed the emphasis of the Republican movement away from the Armalite
ArmaLite
ArmaLite is the name of a small arms engineering facility founded in the early 1950s, and once associated with the Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation. ArmaLite was formally incorporated as a subdivision of Fairchild on October 1, 1954...
and towards an election-focused strategy.
Since the IRA ceasefires of 1994 and 1997, opinion in Northern Ireland remained characteristically divided on whether the armalite and ballot box strategy had been abandoned. However, with the abandonment of large scale political violence; complete decommissioning by the IRA; and a statement from the Army Council that 'the war is over', the majority of unionists have overcome their innate scepticism to believe that it has.
The strategy has also been attributed as having inspired members of the Loyalist Ulster Defence Association
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association is the largest although not the deadliest loyalist paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 and undertook a campaign of almost twenty-four years during "The Troubles"...
such as John McMichael
John McMichael
John "Big John" McMichael was a leading Northern Irish loyalist who rose to become the most prominent figure within the Ulster Defence Association as the Deputy Commander and leader of its South Belfast Brigade. He was also commander of the organisation's cover name, the "Ulster Freedom Fighters"...
to seek a similar route into electoral politics through vehicles such as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party
Ulster Democratic Party
The Ulster Democratic Party was a small loyalist political party in Northern Ireland. It was established in June 1981 as the Ulster Loyalist Democratic Party by the Ulster Defence Association to replace their New Ulster Political Research Group...
. However, parties directly linked to Loyalist paramilitaries have had minimal success in elections in Northern Ireland.