So far we have witnessed the difficulties in defining state crime stemming from difficulties in determining the nature of the ideal state and the terminological crossover between state crime and other forms of non-conventional criminality. We have considered the ways in which state crime moves beyond borders via the international drugs trade and also how states have acted in criminal ways towards other states. In this chapter, we consider how analysing state crime as external pressure exerted from one regime towards another can break down.

Following on from Chapter Six, this chapter depicts a case study of state crime/terrorism in the UK and Ireland, by considering the issue of collusion between various paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland and the British and Irish Police (Guardai). There are many features of the period known as the ‘Troubles’ that may fall under the rubric of state crime; we have chosen to concentrate our discussion on the role of collusion between state agencies in paramilitary organisations and the perpetration of episodes of often extreme violence. We contend that actions undertaken by the then Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) could be deemed to be examples of state crime/terrorism from within, as they occurred on UK territory. On this basis, and despite the claim made by many in the nationalist and Republican communities that Northern Ireland is part of a united Ireland, the actions of the Guardai can be interpreted as state crime/terrorism from without. Whichever side of the argument one prefers, there can be little dispute that actions taken from both sides constitute state criminality on the basis that such collusion with paramilitary groups was undertaken by organisations of the state, whether it be of the UK or Eire (Taylor, 1998, 2000, 2002).

The case of Northern Ireland is used here, then, to highlight how definitions of state crime are very much contingent on political standpoints, on issues of identity and citizenship which, in turn, influence how the labels of state terrorism and state crime can be applied. To fully draw out the nuances of such distinctions – and to present the case that collusion represents both criminal and terroristic activity – the chapter covers some of the background to the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland, by introducing key terminology and symbolism surrounding the dispute along with the main protagonists involved.