Overview

Secret informers are often the biggest threat faced by underground rebel groups, which must respond to this challenge in order to survive. Using the IRA as a case-study, Penality in the Underground offers a systematic, in-depth analysis of this phenomenon, providing an empirical and theoretical account of the causes, forms, functions, and effects of the underground response to informers. While superficial media images tend to depict only ruthless killings, the book argues - using the lens of 'Punishment and Society' and drawing on rich interviews with IRA members and on archival sources - that groups such as the IRA develop complex systems of punishment and social control in their pursuit of informers. The book demonstrates how such systems are not only a mechanical response to a security problem, but are also shaped by other goals, risks, and imperatives, such as maintaining legitimacy, projecting a state-like image, and supporting governance efforts. This work thus identifies and explains some remarkable features of the IRA's pursuit of informers, such as the establishment of 'courts-martial', the granting of 'amnesties', the expansion of social control, the productive function of labelling 'treason' in asserting sovereignty, and the long-term consequences of the issue during transition out of conflict. By exploring the penal logics, practices, and discourses of armed rebel groups - engaged in direct struggle with the state agencies that normally carry out criminal justice - the book aims to expand the study of punishment and society and demonstrate its utility to the understanding of non-state actors.

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9780198759409

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Reviews

Dudai's empirical work in this virtually unstudied area is breathtaking, and his theoretical exploration of the practice of informant killing upends our understanding of punishment and society. * Jonathan Simon, University of California, Berkeley * There are few topics as complex and sensitive as the role of informers in political conflict and how armed groups respond to their activities. Using the IRA as a case-study, Ron Dudai has produced an outstanding study which does justice to that complexity and more. Drawing variously from criminology, sociology, law, anthropology, history and other fields - this is what proper interdisciplinary scholarship looks like. It is an intellectual tour de force and a joy to read. We would all like to write a book as good as this once in our lives. It will come to be seen as a classic. * Kieran McEvoy, Queen's University Belfast * This original theoretical and empirical account focuses on the IRA's response to informers. Dudai draws to good effect on a wide historical, political and cultural context, within which he situates his rigorous analysis, but his most important intellectual contribution is to the sociology of punishment. Dudai writes beautifully with clear and elegant prose and his book deserves to be read by audiences in a wide range of fields. * Carolyn Hoyle, Oxford University *

Author Information

Ron Dudai is a senior lecturer at the department of sociology & anthropology, Ben Gurion University, Israel. His work has been published in leading journals including British Journal of Sociology, British Journal of Criminology, Law & Social Inquiry, and Punishment & Society. He was, among others, a member of the Martin Buber Society of Fellows at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and visiting scholar at the Mitchell Institute, Queen's University Belfast. He was awarded the Brian Williams Prize by the British Society of Criminology, and served as co-editor of the Journal of Human Rights Practice.

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