State Security Forces Systematically Collude With Far-Right Groups to Suppress Political Opposition
Source: Shane Burley. "The Sordid History of State Collusion With the Far Right." March 29, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
The author argues that government security forces regularly work with far-right extremist groups to attack their political enemies. He uses Northern Ireland as the main example, where British forces helped loyalist paramilitaries kill Catholics, and warns this same pattern is happening in America today with police and military members joining white supremacist groups.
Conclusion
State security forces have a documented pattern of colluding with far-right paramilitaries and vigilante groups, using them as unofficial tools to suppress political opposition while maintaining plausible deniability
Premises
- During the Northern Ireland conflict, British security forces extensively colluded with loyalist paramilitaries who killed over 1,000 people, mostly Catholic civilians
- The Ulster Defence Association remained legal until 1992 despite carrying out sectarian murders, while the IRA-affiliated groups were immediately banned
- British military intelligence actively assisted loyalist paramilitaries through intelligence sharing, weapons procurement, and protecting informants who organized assassinations
- In the contemporary United States, significant numbers of military personnel and police officers belong to or associate with far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys
- US law enforcement agencies collaborate with border militias and use far-right groups to assist in arrests of left-wing protesters
- This collusion operates through informal relationships and ideological alignment rather than formal policy, providing the state with plausible deniability
Assumptions
- Far-right groups serve state interests by suppressing political opposition while appearing independent
- State security forces share ideological alignment with far-right groups more than with left-wing movements
- Historical patterns of state-far right collusion will continue without active intervention
- The Northern Ireland case provides a relevant template for understanding US dynamics