Tom Griffin - openDemocracy (Page 2)

The military response to direct action, General Kitson's manual

In 1971 a counter-insurgency manual set out an operational response to non-violent direct action protest movements as well as military insurgencies like the Provision IRA in Northern Ireland, drawing on the UK's colonial experience. Today, it holds a surprise for a new reader.

By Tom Griffin

/ 22 Dec 2010

Tuition fees rebellion sparks coalition crisis

While the voting day on tuition fees is fast approaching, a substantial number of Lib Dem MPs have not yet declared their hand. Journalist Tom Griffin has compiled a list of all the Liberal MPs, indicating how they are likely to vote on Thursday.

By Tom Griffin

/ 5 Dec 2010

Does the union need unionism?

It is not clear what unites political unionism in Northern Ireland in its present form.

By Tom Griffin

/ 18 Oct 2010

Northern Ireland Secretary quizzed over dissident contacts

Is the British government talking to dissident republicans?

By Tom Griffin

/ 13 Sep 2010

Covering the conflict: Human rights and journalism in Northern Ireland

Did journalists do enough to defend human rights during the troubles in Northern Ireland? That was a key question in a fascinating debate in Belfast last week under the auspices of Amnesty International and Féile an Phobail.

By Tom Griffin

/ 13 Aug 2010

Licensed to kill: the culture of impunity that shaped Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday was only part of a wider culture of impunity on the part of the army in Northern Ireland that needs to be examined if similar events are to

By Tom Griffin

/ 29 Jul 2010

Has the Orange Order killed the Parades Bill?

The Northern Ireland Executive mounted a striking show of unity in the face of several nights of violence in Belfast this week, as the marching season reached its annual 12

By Tom Griffin

/ 16 Jul 2010

Bloody Sunday - The Saville verdict on Britain's masacre of the innocents in Northern Ireland

After years of taking years of evidence and an expenditure of nearly £200 million, a British Inquiry has dispassionately concluded that the army paratroopers shot 14 innocent people in 1971 without justification, an event that convinced many Northern Ireland Catholics that war had been declared up

By Tom Griffin

/ 16 Jun 2010

The end of political loyalism?

When former Red Hand Commando Bobby Moffatt was shot dead in Belfast last month, senior loyalists suggested that the killing was the work of rogue elements. Stormont Assembly member Dawn

By Tom Griffin

/ 7 Jun 2010

Book Review: Voices from the Grave - Two Men's War in Ireland

How do you document the history of a conflict in which illegal organisations are among the central players? Voices from the Grave, by the veteran Northern Ireland correspondent Ed Moloney, is an intriguing attempt to answer that question.

By Tom Griffin

/ 7 Jun 2010

Tories learn the perils of first past the post in Northern Ireland

It is often said in favour of the Westminster electoral system that it tends to provide the voter with straightforward choices. The opening days of the campaign in Northern Ireland

By Tom Griffin

/ 14 Apr 2010

Crash report: Has the left learned the lessons of the financial crisis?

When financial markets collapsed in 2008, it was widely seen as the end of an era dominated by neoliberalism. Is the left making the most of the opportunity to fill the vacuum? That's the question at the heart of After the Crash - re-inventing the the left in Britain, a new e-book available free f

By Tom Griffin

/ 24 Mar 2010