ABSTRACT
Despite its pivotal role in the current conflict, the British government has been widely neglected as a topic of research. Generally ignored by mainstream analysts, it has received consistent attention only from the left of the political spectrum, which explains why the image in the literature is that of a colonial oppressor, bent on asserting its so-called imperial and strategic interests.1 In practice, though, nothing could be further from the truth. With the British retreat from Empire and the rise of the Cold War, Ireland had lost its strategic importance in the eyes of British policymakers.2 If we want to find a convincing rationale for London’s actions and responses throughout the ‘troubles’, we have to look elsewhere.
