P STONES AND PROVOS: GROUP VIOLENCE IN NORTHERN IRELAND AND CHICAGO Nicole Dorothea Ives-Allison A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2015 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/6925 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence P Stones and Provos: Group Violence in Northern Ireland and Chicago Nicole Dorothea Ives-Allison This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 20 February 2015 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Nicole Dorothea Ives-Allison, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 83, 278 words in length, has been written by me, and that it is the record of work carried out by me, or principally by myself in collaboration with others as acknowledged, and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September, 2011 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (International Relations) in May, 2011; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2011 and 2014 (If you received assistance in writing from anyone other than your supervisor/s): I, Nicole Dorothea Ives-Allison, received assistance in the writing of this thesis in respect of spelling and grammar, which was provided by Laurel Anne Ives-Allison. Date 20.02.2015 signature of candidate 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (International Relations) in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date 20,02.15 signature of supervisor 3. Permission for publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the publication of this thesis: PRINTED COPY a) No embargo on print copy ELECTRONIC COPY a) No embargo on electronic copy Date 20.02.15 signature of candidate signature of supervisor Please note initial embargos can be requested for a maximum of five years. An embargo on a thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science or Medicine is rarely granted for more than two years in the first instance, without good justification. The Library will not lift an embargo before confirming with the student and supervisor that they do not intend to request a continuation. In the absence of an agreed response from both student and supervisor, the Head of School will be consulted. Please note that the total period of an embargo, including any continuation, is not expected to exceed ten years. Where part of a thesis is to be embargoed, please specify the part and the reason. P Stones and Provos N Ives-Allison 1 Although the government of the United States of America was established to protect the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness among all American citizens, this thesis argues intractable gang violence in inner-city Chicago has persistently denied these rights, in turn undermining fundamental (and foundational) American political values. Thus, gang violence can be argued to represent a threat to both civil order and state legitimacy. Yet, where comparable (and generally lower) levels of community-level violence in Northern Ireland garnered the sustained attention and direct involvement of the United Kingdom's central government, the challenge posed by gang violence has been unappreciated, if not ignored, by the American federal government. In order to mobilise the political commitment and resources needed to find a durable resolution to Chicago's long and often anarchic 'uncivil war', it is first necessary to politicise the problem and its origins. Contributing to this politicisation, this thesis explains why gang violence in Chicago has been unable to capture the political imagination of the American government in a way akin to paramilitary (specifically republican) violence in Northern Ireland. Secondly, it explains how the depoliticisation of gang violence has negatively affected response, encouraging the continued application of inadequate and largely ineffective response strategies. Finally, it makes the case that, while radical, a conditional agreement-centric peace process loosely modelled on that employed in Northern Ireland might offer the most effective strategy for restoring the sense of peace and security to inner-city Chicago lost over half a century ago. P Stones and Provos N Ives-Allison 3 Acknowledgements Thesis writing is itself a solitary endeavour, yet one only made possible with the help of a strong network of support. First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor Prof Richard English for his abiding patience, support and faith in my potential. A debt of gratitude is also owed to Dr Marc Tyrell for making the initial contacts that led to this work and to Drs Christiane Wilke and Leighann Neilson for their encouragement and mentorship. Dr Timothy Wilson played a vital role in facilitating access to obscure literature while also giving generously of his time to help me talk through my ideas for this research. At various stages in the process of researching and writing up I have also benefitted from the feedback from, and guidance of, Dr Sarah Marsden, Dr Rashmi Singh, Dr Orla Lynch, Prof Peter Donnelly, Prof Janice Radway and Prof Julie Rak as I have learned to explain my ideas and aspirations. My time under his tutelage was far too brief, but the spirit of compassionate justice invested in me by Prof John McKendy greatly underpins this work. A debt of thanks is also owed to the staff of Queen's University Belfast's McClay Library for generously treating me as one of their own. Though my colleagues and students with the Sandy Row Homework Project will likely disagree strongly with my description of Northern Irish history, I hope they know how truly appreciative I am for their insights on the conflict. My understanding of Northern Ireland's past, present and future is much stronger and more nuanced because of my time with them. Programme leader Billy Ennis showed formidable patience and understanding in accommodating my relentless travel schedule while Rachel Stephens has been incredibly supportive as a colleague and a friend. I can only hope that I have been able to teach my students, particularly Alex, Corey-Jay, Donovan, Jackson, Lois and Tai whom I worked with nearly every day (alphabetical order) a small fraction of how much they have taught me. Gillian, Callum and Oliver Duncan provided me with a second home and a second family and I will forever be grateful for their love and support. Pep talks from my grandmother Dorothea and sister Samantha have helped brightened up the longest and busiest days. That I have been able to pursue my dreams is only because my father James has so willingly sacrificed so many of his own. Finally, I need to thank my mother Laurel Ives-Allison who is not only my biggest cheerleader, but my primary proof-reader. There really are no words to express how grateful I am for the seemingly endless late nights, early mornings and long afternoons she devoted to proofing this project and many others over the last several years. Any success is shared and any error, failure or omission is purely my own. P Stones and Provos N Ives-Allison 5 Table of Contents Introduction 7 Chapter 1 Scholarly Binaries, The State of the Field(s) and Definitional Debates 23 Chapter 2 The Emergence and Reproduction of Politicised and Depoliticised Difference: The Legacies of Sectarianism & Nationalism in Northern Ireland and Race in the United States 53 Chapter 3 Previous Responses to Gang Violence in Chicago: The Limitations of Intervention, Suppression and Integration 103 Chapter 4 Violence Transformation: A New Way Forward? 139 Conclusion 157 Bibliography 165 Appendix A Common Elements of the Intervention Approach to Reducing Gang Violence 211 Appendix B Violence Transformation Process Model 213 P Stones and Provos N Ives-Allison 7 Introduction Over the course of the last fifty years, widespread gang violence in Chicago has presented itself as a serious and persistent yet under-appreciated threat to American civil order and the principles of liberal democracy upon which the United States was founded. Since the emergence of the city's 'supergangs' in the 1960s, the scale of gang violence in the city has consistently been comparable with (often surpassing) that experienced in Northern Ireland during the thirty-year period of low-intensity civil conflict known as the Troubles.