Vreeland, James RaymondRoberts, Cathal2023-07-182026-09-302023-07-182026-09-302023-04-042023-07-18http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/dsp01fx719q74zhttps://theses-dissertations.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01fx719q74zResearch published in the Terrorism and Political Violence Journal shows that indiscriminate British Security Force killings provided a key indicator for subsequent violence by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Many other research papers have interpreted the motivations of the PIRA as a sectarian organization engaged in a ‘tit-for-tat’ campaign with Loyalist paramilitaries. Through an examination of the killings conducted by Loyalist paramilitaries and British Security Forces on subsequent PIRA IED incidents from 1970 to 1998 this paper reveals insight into the elements that drove political violence in the region. While Loyalist paramilitary killings exhibit no effect on the levels of PIRA IED incidents, indiscriminate killings by British Security Forces retained its relationship of increasing the levels of PIRA IED incidents. This finding enhances our knowledge of the PIRA strategy during the Troubles and our understanding of the elements that increase the probability of political violence.application/pdfenPrinceton University Senior Theses