“The Seat of an Alien Tyranny” Intentionality, the Mediation of Colonial Power, and Dublin’s Custom House. Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 Peace and Conflict Studies Bachelor 12 ECTS Spring/Summer 2018 Supervisor: Stephen Marr Word count: 13, 449 Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 Abstract This historical case study applies the theoretical and methodological framework of Kim Dovey, Ambe Njoh, and Liora Bigon to examine the ways in which a colonial administrative building, the Dublin Custom House, served as a mediator of colonial power over Ireland, and how this process was understood by the creators of the building. This investigation is a response to the inconsistent way that intentionality is discussed in existing academic literature on the relationships between built environments and societal power structures. The study found that that the creators of the Custom House had a clear and nuanced understanding of the ways the building could be used to extend cultural and political power over Ireland, within the existing political framework in the country. In contrast to the theoretical framework used, the study found that in this case, the mediation of economic and political power was understood as functioning within the existing political-economic structures of the country, rather than creating new structures. ´ The clarity of the findings suggest that further investigations into intentionality is likely to yield informative results, and that it would be beneficial to apply the methodological and theoretical framework used in this study to other cases in the future. Key words: architecture, built environment, power, conflict, colonial planning Words: 13, 449 2 Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 Glossary Lord Lieutenant of Ireland – An official appointed by the English government to serve as the highest-ranked representative of the English government within Ireland. Position is similar to that of the highest-ranking governor in a colony. Chief Secretary – The Chief Secretary of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, an administrative role that held an enormous amount of power due to its direct connection with the Lord Lieutenant. Revenue Commissioners – Can refer to either a government department or individual members of that department within the Government of Ireland. It was responsible for handling customs duties, taxation, and other forms of raising revenues for Government use. Acts of Union – legislation uniting the kingdoms of Britain and Ireland into a single kingdom with one parliament and government based in London. Passed in 1800, following the passage of a similar set of acts that united the formerly separate kingdoms of Scotland and England in 1706-1707. Church of Ireland – The Irish branch of the Protestant Church of England, following the Anglican form of Protestantism. Irish Republican Army (IRA) – a later Irish republican revolutionary group beginning in the 19th century, supporting a Gaelic and Catholic view of Irish nationalism. Irish War of Independence – armed conflict fought between the IRA and the British Empire between 1919-1921, ending with an IRA victory, leading to the Irish Civil War and the creation of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Neoclassicism – a style of architecture and art inspired by classical Greek and Roman culture, first popularised in mid-18th century Europe. Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 Palladianism – an architectural style created by the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio in the 16th century, inspired by classical Greek and Roman architecture and placing an emphasis on mimicking the proportions and dimensions of the Greco-Roman architectural style. Pediment – the large, triangular roof structure seen on the front of many Greco-Roman buildings, normally supported by columns. Anglo-Irish – an ethnic group within Ireland descended from settlers from England, Wales, and Scotland. Predominantly Anglican Protestants. Gaelic Irish – the indigenous population of Ireland, predominantly Catholic. The Gaels are part of the broader Celtic ethnolinguistic group. Ulster Scots – the majority ethnic group in Northern Ireland, largely descended from Scottish colonists. Anglo-British – The Kingdom of England slowly merged with the Kingdom of Scotland between 1603 and 1707 to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The term Anglo-British is used in this paper to refer to cases that involved the Kingdom of England both before and after this union (e.g. “Anglo-British rule over Ireland”). Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Research Problem ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Aim and Research Question ............................................................................... 3 1.3 Relevance to Peace and Conflict Studies ........................................................... 4 1.4 Delimitations ...................................................................................................... 5 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Built Environments and Conflicts ...................................................................... 8 2.2 Intentionality and Power Mediation through Built Form ................................. 12 3 Background Information ..................................................................................... 15 3.1 Colonialism and Ireland ................................................................................... 15 3.2 Colonial Planning ............................................................................................. 18 3.3 The Dublin Custom House ............................................................................... 19 4 Analytical and Theoretical Framework .............................................................. 21 4.1 Defining the Term ‘Mediation of Power through Built Form’ ........................ 21 4.2 Forms of Power ................................................................................................ 22 4.2.1 Political-Administrative ........................................................................... 23 4.2.2 Cultural ..................................................................................................... 24 4.2.3 Socio-Psychological ................................................................................. 24 4.2.4 Military ..................................................................................................... 25 4.2.5 Economic .................................................................................................. 25 4.3 Dovey’s Alternative Forms of Power ............................................................... 26 4.4 Bourdieu’s Concept of Habitus ........................................................................ 27 5 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 28 5.1 Choice of Methodology .................................................................................... 28 5.2 Source Materials ............................................................................................... 30 5.3 Research Design ............................................................................................... 31 5.4 Source Criticism ............................................................................................... 33 5.5 Positionality ...................................................................................................... 33 6 Analysis .................................................................................................................. 35 6.1 Political-Administrative ................................................................................... 35 Edward Digman Student Number: 940626T199 6.1.1 What design features of the Custom House are associated with the mediation of political-administrative power? ......................................................... 35 6.1.2 How do parties involved in building the Custom House appear to understand the mediation of political-administrative power? ................................. 38 6.2 Cultural ............................................................................................................. 40 6.2.1 What design features of the Custom House are associated with the mediation of cultural power? .................................................................................. 40 6.2.2 How do parties involved in building the Custom House appear to understand the mediation of cultural power? .......................................................... 41 6.3 Socio-Psychological ......................................................................................... 44 6.3.1 What design features of the Custom House are associated with the mediation of socio-psychological power? .............................................................. 44 6.3.2 How do parties involved in building the Custom House appear to understand the mediation of socio-psychological power? ...................................... 44 6.4 Military Power .................................................................................................. 46 6.4.1 What design features of the Custom House are associated with the mediation of military power? .................................................................................