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Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity: The Frustrated Promise of Political Loyalism
Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity is a unique in-depth investigation into working-class Loyalism in Northern Ireland as represented by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), the Red Hand Commando (RHC) and their political allies.
In an unorthodox account, Tony Novosel argues that these groups, seen as implacable enemies by Republicans and the left, did develop a political analysis of the Northern Ireland conflict in the 1970s which involved a compromise peace with all political parties and warring factions – something that historians and writers have largely ignored.
Distinctive, deeply informed and provocative, Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity is the first study to focus not on the violent actions of the UVF/RHC but on their political vision and programme which, Novosel argues, included the potential for a viable peace based on compromise with all groups, including the Irish Republican Army.
In an unorthodox account, Tony Novosel argues that these groups, seen as implacable enemies by Republicans and the left, did develop a political analysis of the Northern Ireland conflict in the 1970s which involved a compromise peace with all political parties and warring factions – something that historians and writers have largely ignored.
Distinctive, deeply informed and provocative, Northern Ireland's Lost Opportunity is the first study to focus not on the violent actions of the UVF/RHC but on their political vision and programme which, Novosel argues, included the potential for a viable peace based on compromise with all groups, including the Irish Republican Army.
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 7, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 22, 2020
Tony Novosel highlights an interesting argument illustrating the history and motivations of political and progressive Loyalism in the Troubles in Northern Ireland in his in-depth investigation. A senior lecturer in History at the University of Pittsburgh, Novosel focuses on Belfast in his projects and became particularly curious about Loyalism. One of his motivations in creating this book was to challenge the traditional stereotypes of Loyalism that only serve to hinder understanding of the Troubles and the history of this conflict in Northern Ireland. This is significant not only in academics, but in the Protestant community in Northern Ireland as they are given the opportunity to learn about their history in a productive and constructive manner.
Novosel exposes and transcends the prevalent views that Protesant Loyalism was focused merely on sectarian violence with little significance in the peace process in his analysis. Focusing on the “fifty years of misrule” by Unionism, Novosel details the manipulation the Protestant working class suffered, crossing sectarian lines. He does a commendable job at including the vast historical scope in his research to get a strong handle on the subject, and also skillfully evades getting stuck in the well-established prison narrative in his argument. Yet the book still manages to circumvent a serious analysis of the monumental Ulster Workers Council Strike of 1974. With this book, Novosel climbs a steep mountain and contributes a significant investigation into the political thinking and the politics of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando. Despite his comprehensive research, Novosel’s Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity overemphasizes the role of these progressive Loyalists in Ulster. He focuses on a mere fraction of the loyalist paramilitaries who at the end failed to truly make a meaningful political impact in Northern Ireland, illustrating his bias in searching too deeply for a positive significance amongst all the violence. In Irish History we see the recurring themes of repression and poverty befalling the Catholic population and it seems to me Novosel contradicts the reality of Protestant terrorism in Northern Ireland in favor of a overblown analysis of Protestant self-realization.
Overall, I believe Novosel’s study of the UVF and his analysis of their politics successfully challenges the one-dimensional idea of loyalism commonly held in the popular media. A well-researched study interrogating these previously held assumptions, Novosel creates a compelling argument, falling victim to minimal biases throughout the project. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in diving deeper into the lethal game of politics of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Deeply thought out and easy to follow, it’s an interesting read about the other, lesser known side of the story.
Novosel exposes and transcends the prevalent views that Protesant Loyalism was focused merely on sectarian violence with little significance in the peace process in his analysis. Focusing on the “fifty years of misrule” by Unionism, Novosel details the manipulation the Protestant working class suffered, crossing sectarian lines. He does a commendable job at including the vast historical scope in his research to get a strong handle on the subject, and also skillfully evades getting stuck in the well-established prison narrative in his argument. Yet the book still manages to circumvent a serious analysis of the monumental Ulster Workers Council Strike of 1974. With this book, Novosel climbs a steep mountain and contributes a significant investigation into the political thinking and the politics of the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando. Despite his comprehensive research, Novosel’s Northern Ireland’s Lost Opportunity overemphasizes the role of these progressive Loyalists in Ulster. He focuses on a mere fraction of the loyalist paramilitaries who at the end failed to truly make a meaningful political impact in Northern Ireland, illustrating his bias in searching too deeply for a positive significance amongst all the violence. In Irish History we see the recurring themes of repression and poverty befalling the Catholic population and it seems to me Novosel contradicts the reality of Protestant terrorism in Northern Ireland in favor of a overblown analysis of Protestant self-realization.
Overall, I believe Novosel’s study of the UVF and his analysis of their politics successfully challenges the one-dimensional idea of loyalism commonly held in the popular media. A well-researched study interrogating these previously held assumptions, Novosel creates a compelling argument, falling victim to minimal biases throughout the project. I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in diving deeper into the lethal game of politics of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Deeply thought out and easy to follow, it’s an interesting read about the other, lesser known side of the story.
March 25, 2018
Novosel overstates the case for some forward political thinking by some loyalist paramilitary leaders. They clearly were thinking in non-traditional ways, but he is silly about it.
June 27, 2016
charts the political development of a section of Loyalism fairly and in a well-written manner. But at points raises mroe questions to which there are no answers: how could people tending towards socialism coexist with people tending towards the far right, with both sides armed? And, just as importantly, why does this strand of Loyalism seem to be so impotent now?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews