Institutions of law play a pivotal role in maintaining or undermining stability in societies, especially deeply divided societies fractured along racial, ethnic, or religious lines. Policing in such situations has been characterized as having little accountability to and little legitimacy in major segments of the community. Despite the importance of understanding law enforcement processes, the social science literature lacks studies of the police in divided societies, particularly primary research that is theoretically and empirically robust. This study examines a series of theoretical questions on the role of policing in a deeply divided society. The focus of the research is on the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland. This is an apt context for examining policing because it allows for comparative and longitudinal analysis of a polarized society under two very different political systems, Protestant (1921- 1972) and British (1972-present) rule. Three analytical theses derived from the literature are addressed--the instrumentalist thesis, the functionality thesis, and the fortification thesis. The research will examine how the role of the police has evolved along with changes in the political structure and in particular whether the movement toward police normalization affects the links between the police and the divided community. The research design will consist of systematic interviews with community and religious leaders, government officials, politicians, and the police; direct observation of police activity; and collection of reports, documents, and newspaper accounts. The data will be analyzed with the help of secondary studies of the police in other divided and integrated societies. This study should have major implications for understanding the various ways in which the police affect and are affected by their social and political environment. Not only will it contribute to knowledge about societies which are institutionally and culturally divided, but also it will contribute to understanding of policing in more integrated, ethnically diverse, societies such as in the United States. Issues of legitimacy, impartial law enforcement, use of force, and accountability have effects on police-minority relations that are not unlike the effects in deeply divided societies. A general theory of policing in societies will be developed by connecting policing to communal divisions and grievances. The comparative, longitudinal framework will highlight both changes and continuities over time and offer insights about the opportunities and limits of reform.
