Policing, politics and state intelligence: maintaining order in times of political agitation in England, Frnace and Ireland (1870-1910)

Abstract

This thesis compares how England, France and Ireland policed political agitation from the closing decades of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century and how this led to the institutionalization of intelligence-led policing in the three police cultures. It will focus on the period from 1870 to 1910 as this encompasses a crucial time in the political history of all three case studies when police forces had to contend with a range of political groupings that advocated and utilized political violence. The thesis will examine how the police sought to maintain order in times of political agitation by developing innovations in policing methods and practices in each country.