A Policy of Deliberate Ambiguity: The Irish Provisional Government's Shifting Northern Ireland Policy,1922

Abstract

Immediately following the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty on 6 December 1921, the emergent pro-Treaty regime pursued a strategy to win the brittle loyalty of the IRA’s Northern Divisions. The Provisional Government publicly adopted a northern policy of deliberate ambiguity which allowed it to appeal to militarists and moderates alike. The precariously situated Northern IRA largely accepted the Treaty due to these clandestine appeals and promises of military aid. Aware that it must maintain an uneasy coalition of diverse constituencies, the Provisional Government’s policy evolved from one aligned with militarists to one aimed at non-violent co-existence with Northern Ireland.