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Political ex-prisoners and policing in transitional societies – testing the boundaries of new conceptions of citizenship and security

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 September 2007

Gráinne McKeever
Affiliation:
Lecturer, School of Law and Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster*
Mary O’Rawe
Affiliation:
Senior Lecturer, Transitional Justice Institute, University of Ulster**

Abstract

The article aims to test the boundaries of traditional notions and understandings of citizenship and security in transitional societies through the framing of a given question – should paramilitary ex-prisoners be allowed to join the police? The question, considered through an examination of the particular experience of Northern Ireland, acts as a springboard to the deconstruction of broader traditional and transitional assumptions around citizenship and the delivery of security in societies seeking ways out of violent conflict. The article is ultimately concerned, not so much to deliver a final answer to the specifics of the question posed in all contexts, but to problematise notions of citizenship and State to the point where broader questions need to be asked around accepted and preconceived notions of inclusivity, citizenship and security.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

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