Since the start of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, working-class Protestants have used violence and terror as much as their Catholic counterparts. Yet despite being responsible for half the civilian casualties of the current conflict and having subverted numerous political initiatives, such loyalist paramilitary organizations as the Ulster Defence Association, the Ulster Volunteer Force, and the Red Hand Commando have been little studied by scholars.  Based on extensive interviews, this is the first comprehensive study of loyalist terrorism. Exploring the history and the aims of the various groups, Professor Bruce examines claims of security force collusion with the loyalists and the use of terror to defend rather than destroy the state.

The Red Hand: Protestant Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland

Politics & Social Sciences

Bruce, Steve

Social Sciences

Oxford University Press

This book is the first serious analysis of the religious and political career of Ian Paisley, the only modern Western leader to have founded his own Church, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and his own political party, the Democratic Unionist Party. Paisley's enduring popularity and success--in 1979, he received more votes than any other member of the European Parliament--mirror the complicated issues that continue to plague Northern Ireland. Using considerable unpublished documentary material, Bruce provides unique insight into Unionist politics and religion in Northern Ireland today.

God Save Ulster!: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism

Sociology

Since the start of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland", working class Protestants have used violence and terror to "defend Ulster from traitorous republicans". Despite being responsible for about half the civilian casualties of the present conflict and despite having subverted major political initiatives, the loyalist paramilitary organizations - The Ulster Defence Association, the Ulster Volunteer Force, the Red Hand Commando and others - have been relatively neglected by scholars. This study, based on extensive interviewing of loyalist terrorists, is a comprehensive survey of a group that is central to the Ulster conflict. "The Red Hand" recounts the history of loyalist terorism, analyzes the motives that inform it, examines the political innovations of the terrorists, critically explores claims of security force collusion with loyalist terror, and concludes by arguing that what appear to be unconnected aspects of loyalist paramilitarism can be understood as having common origins in the problems of trying to use terror to defend, rather than to destroy, the state. The primary importance of the book is in filling a large gap in our understanding of the Northern Ireland conflict; its secondary purpose is to extend our understanding of the relationship between terrorism and the modern state.

The Red Hand

Steve Bruce conveys the essence of the field of sociology in this fascinating volume. A well-known populizer of the discipline, Bruce presents here an introduction to a way of thinking that will appeal to anyone interested in deepening their understanding of modern society. Bruce reasserts the value of sociology as a social science, as a framework of understanding the human condition that grounds its explanations in reliable observations of the real world. Drawing on studies of social class, crime and deviance, work in bureaucracies, and changes in religious and political organizations, Bruce explores the tension between the individual's role in society and society's role in shaping the individual. Sociology: A Very Short Introduction demonstrates the value of sociology as a perspective for understanding the modern world.

Sociology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Steve Bruce conveys the essence of the field of sociology in this fascinating volume. A well-known populizer of the discipline, Bruce presents here an introduction to a way of thinking that will appeal to anyone interested in deepening their understanding of modern society. Bruce reasserts the value of sociology as a social science, as a framework of understanding the human condition that grounds its explanations in reliable observations of the real world. Drawing on studies of social class, crime and deviance, work in bureaucracies, and changes in religious and political organizations, Bruce explores the tension between the individual's role in society and society's role in shaping the individual. Sociology: A Very Short Introduction demonstrates the value of sociology as a perspective for understanding the modern world. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

Sociology: A Very Short Introduction

This book is the first serious analysis of the religious and political career of Ian Paisley, the only modern Western leader to have founded his own Church, the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster, and his own political party, the Democratic Unionist Party. Paisley's enduring popularity and success--in 1979, he received more votes than any other member of the European Parliament--mirror the complicated issues that continue to plague Northern Ireland. Using considerable unpublished documentary material, Bruce provides unique insight into Unionist politics and religion in Northern Ireland today.

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

The resurgence during the Reagan administration of right-wing organizations--like Jerry Falwell's Moral Majority--committed to bringing religion back into American politics, reflected the determination of fundamentalists to fight against a perceived domination that threatened the autonomy of conservative Protestantism from a liberal and cosmopolitan elite. The fundamentalists, however, have been forced into alliances with conservative Catholics and Jews, and other secular conservatives, in their quest for political strength; and, inherent tensions of this coalition-building effort have worked against the cause, being in large part responsible for the relative failure of the movement to make larger inroads into American popular politics. This important new book draws on survey data and interviews with fundamentalist activists to chart the rise and fall of the New Christian Right. Bruce traces the postwar social and religious origins of the movement, evaluates its achievements, and analyzes why, despite some local successes, it has failed to remake the United States as "one nation under God." He also draws larger conclusions about the political possibilities for religious minorities in modern societies.

The Rise and Fall of the New Christian Right: Conservative Protestant Politics in America, 1978-1988

Professionals & Academics

The Edge Of The Union: The Ulster Loyalist Political Vision

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Northern Ireland "Troubles," once-dominant unionists are an increasingly alienated people. In this timely assessment of prospects for peace, Steve Bruce describes the increasingly embittered world view of the loyalist terrorists and the evangelical supporters of Ian Paisley and considers what these two important sections of Ulster unionism want, what they expect, and how they are liable to react to any of the political futures that are likely to be on offer. In describing the Troubles as a deeply entrenched ethnic conflict, the author argues that the strength of loyalist identity both defies much social science thinking about Northern Ireland and offers a more serious obstacle to government policy than is widely thought.

The Edge of the Union: The Ulster Loyalist Political Vision

History

Europe

On the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles', Ulster's once dominant unionists are an increasingly alienated people. In this timely assessment of the prospects for peace, Steve Bruce examines the embittered world-view of two key sections of Ulster unionism: the loyalist terrorists and the evangelical supporters of Ian Paisley. To get to the heart of the unionist position Bruce asks how they see the last twenty-five years, what they want from the future, what they think they will get, what they will accept, and what they will fight to oppose. He describes the Troubles as a deeply entrenched ethnic conflict. He argues that a failure to appreciate the strength of Loyalist identity has prevented a proper understanding of the Troubles and that continued neglect of the majority makes strategies for peace pointless or counter-productive.

Oxford Univ Pr (Txt)

People of the western world now have unprecedented freedom to choose their religion. Here, one of the world's leading sociologist of religion argues that the liberty and freedom to choose religion corrodes faith and that religion remains most vital when it is part of ethnic and national identity.

Choice and Religion: A Critique of Rational Choice Theory

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bruce, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Bruce, Steve

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Bruce, Steve. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Red Hand: Protestant Paramilitaries in Northern Ireland

God Save Ulster!: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism

The Red Hand

Sociology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Sociology: A Very Short Introduction

God Save Ulster!: The Religion and Politics of Paisleyism

The Rise and Fall of the New Christian Right: Conservative Protestant Politics in America, 1978-1988

The Edge of the Union: The Ulster Loyalist Political Vision

The Edge Of The Union: The Ulster Loyalist Political Vision

Choice and Religion: A Critique of Rational Choice Theory