A Propaganda Failure in the Perimeter: The British in Northern Ireland, c. 1969–82
Published in Irish Studies in International Affairs, 2025.
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Abstract
This article examines British propaganda policy in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 1982. In contrast with largely successful and routine coercive efforts to counter insurgencies in British colonies, tried and tested propaganda initiatives presented British governments with a Northern Ireland problem: how to respond to civil unrest and an armed insurgent movement close to the centre of power when subject to legal and media scrutiny. The proximity of Northern Ireland and the affinity of its dominant constituency of unionists, loyal to Britain, combined to hinder the transfer and application of otherwise seasoned strategies of propaganda and information warfare. The available archival records reveal how Britain's benign neglect of escalating civil unrest in Northern Ireland precipitated a series of information failures, undermining the government's attempts to secure the 'hearts and minds' of a fractured population relegated to the perimeter of British government priorities.