Domestic and foreign Marxist tradition of the Northern Ireland conflict origins definition (1969–1998)

Abstract

The article examines the perspectives of Soviet and foreign Marxist researchers in relation to the underlying causes of the beginning and escalation of Northern Irish conflict (The Troubles). The significance of this research lies in comprehending the lesser-explored Marxist heritage within the contemporary study of historical events in Great Britain and Ireland. The scientific novelty lies in addressing the scarcity of historiographical works dedicated to this issue, the depth of analysis they provide, and the absence of comprehensive comparative experiences. The research aims to investigate specific processes in the intellectual history of the USSR and other countries during the latter half of the XX century, focusing on instances of interaction or lack thereof between various Marxist schools of thought and trends. This is achieved by utilizing the Marxist historiography of the Northern Ireland conflict as an illustrative case. To fulfill this objective, the study undertakes a comparison of extensive sets of historiographical sources and internal subgroups of approaches present within Eastern and Western scholarly traditions that explore aspects of the Northern Ireland conflict within the context of Marxism. The primary theoretical framework draws upon the works of foreign and Russian Marxist scholars devoted to the issue of intercommunal conflict in Northern Ireland. The key finding of the research highlights the existence of evident similarities, encompassing logical, substantive, and linguistic-rhetorical aspects, between the works of Western and Eastern Marxists, despite the lack of direct citations between them. The research postulates several hypotheses concerning the origins of this phenomenon, including the potential impact of distinct methodologies on researchers’ perceptions of social processes and historical events, irrespective of the array of available source material. Furthermore, the research does not negate the possibility of implicit interactions between proponents of the English-language and the Russian-language Marxist academic traditions.

Keywords

• historiography
• intellectual history
• scientific marxism
• historical comparative analysis
• northern ireland
• the troubles
• ethno-confessional conflict