Introduction

Many scholars of the “Troubles” in Northern Ireland agree that the Provisional Irish Republican Army sustained its 30-year armed struggle due primarily to support from broader sections of the Catholic and Nationalist community. However, few publications systematically analyze the Republican movement's “community building” efforts and how Nationalist individuals, groups, and associations actively contributed to the Republican movement and a transformed and radical Nationalist community. This volume contributes to this study area by using and developing the concept of “counterpublic.” This chapter discusses the origins of the Northern Ireland conflict since the late 1960s, presents an overview of the state of the art of counterpublic theory, and a short survey of the current social movement research on the Northern Ireland conflict. The volume's outline introduces the chapters that examine critical factors and processes by which a once acquiescent Nationalist population was transformed into a Republican counterpublic of resistance demanding national self-determination and social justice.