The “informer” and the political and organisational culture of the Irish republican movement: old and new interpretations

This article will analyse recent interpretations of the “informer” as a subject of political and historical significance for a balanced understanding of the trajectory of the Provisional Republican movement. It will do so in part through a discussion of some recent fiction and memoir-writing devoted to the figure of the informer. Specifically, this will involve an exploration of the recent fictional re-imagination of the real-life case of Denis Donaldson, by the French journalist Sorj Chalandon (Mon traître, 2007 and Retour à Killybegs, 2011) (These novels have been translated into English as My Traitor (2011) and Return to Killybegs (2013)). All subsequent references are to the English versions. In the first section, the article analyses the historical evolution of the phenomenon and recent revelations regarding the apparently widespread existence of informers in the movement during the Troubles. This section engages with the academic debate concerning the effects of these revelations upon the morale and internal political culture of the republican movement; it is argued here that the “Republican family” has been significantly affected by these disclosures in the “post-conflict” era, and that they have become an important element in the contestation between leadership supporters and “dissenters” within contemporary republicanism. The second section utilises old and new literary representations of “the informer”, particularly based around Liam O’Flaherty’s The Informer and Chalandon’s work, to discuss continuities and changes in the image and perception of this phenomenon. It is argued that the interweaving of fiction with real-life and factual historical detail is a particularly appropriate means of interpreting the role and effects of the informer.     

冯玉祥在陆军检阅使任内

1922年第一次直奉战争结束后,吴佩孚为了压制冯玉祥,将其由河南督军调任陆军检阅使,驻兵近畿.冯玉祥一抵北京,即组建陆军检阅使署于南苑.该署编制系参照巡阅使署编制而制订,职权 较前有所下降.正因该署是个"闲职",冯玉祥遂抓住有利时机,于任内干了几件惊天动地的大事,大多为人们所称道.及至1924年第二次直奉战争结束,张作霖气焰嚣张,段祺瑞仰其鼻息,排斥异己,冯玉祥以环境恶劣,毅然辞去陆军检阅使,专任西北边防督办.此后,他致力于经营西北,扩充实力,并于不久投身于国民革命.     

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高台县骆驼城遗址,为我国现存规模较大、颇有影响的一座古城址。作者反复踏察了该城址及其周围的众多遗迹,摸清了其基本面貌,考得骆驼城为东汉灵帝光和四年(181年)因地震水患搬迁重筑的酒泉郡表氏(表是)县城,前凉至北周该城为凉州建康郡郡治及其所辖表氏(表是)县城,唐代为建康军城,公元766年废弃,该城延绵585年。     

谈新四军及华中抗日根据地的报刊精神

新四军及华中抗日根据地报刊,在中国共产党的正确领导下,为新四军及华中抗日根据地的创建和发展,为抗战全面胜利作出了历史性贡献。新四军及华中抗日根据地的报刊精神主要体现在政治坚定、导向鲜明的党性原则;艰苦创业、乐于奉献的革命传统;贴近生活、通俗生动的求实风格三个方面。     

淮军研究及其历史文化资源利用

淮军是晚清时期一支重要的武装力量,也是清代军事体制从传统向近代转化过程中承先启后的一种重要组织形式。本文从六个方面简要介绍了淮军的研究状况,指出了既有研究中存在的问题及今后应该关注的方向,并就如何利用好淮军历史文化资源提出了建议。     

日本在连云港的统制与经营述论

七七事变前,日本即关注连云港的重要战略地位,并作了大量实地考察。徐州会战后,日本海军陆战队与华北方面军分别攻占连云港及周边的海州地区,并围绕连云港的支配权展开激烈争夺,几经调解,双方达成共同使用连云港的协议。这种双方共管体制的弊端不断显现,随后港口管理遂移交华北交通株式会社负责,实行"路港一体化"的运作方式,并接受华北方面军的指导和监控。日占期间,重点统制经营的连云港在华北港口布局中占据重要地位,煤炭、铁矿石等基础工业原料是港口主要出口物资,煤炭输出更在港口总吞吐量中占据绝对优势。     

国民军入甘及其对甘肃社会的影响

冯玉祥的国民军1925年10月进入甘肃,驻军5年之久,对甘肃社会产生了深刻的影响。国民军实行全省军政和财政统一,整顿吏治;宣传国民革命和新三民主义,使新思想和新思潮广泛传播;发展经济,创办学校,促进甘肃文化教育事业的发展,使甘肃社会发生了前所未有的变迁。     

对秦兵马俑彩绘保护技术的思考与建议

秦陶俑彩绘保护是秦始皇陵保护的重点和难点。对秦兵马俑目前的现状进行全面介绍的基础上分析了损坏的原因,指出损坏是由历史、力学以及物理化学等原因共同造成。然后详细评价了PEG200和聚氨酯(PU)乳液联合处理的保护方法与单体材料渗透、电子束辐照固化(EB)的保护方法,并指出了这两种技术的优势及所存在的问题;还介绍了一些辅助加固技术并详细介绍了冷冻干燥法、盐溶液干燥法以及室温干燥法的原理和操作;之后提出了加固剂制备与陶俑保护一体化的设想、均匀场的设想以及稳定生漆层的设想。     

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Something to Compete with ‘Gunsmoke’: ‘The Big Picture’ Television series and selling a ‘modern,progressive and forward thinking’ Army to Cold War America

Airing from 1951 until 1971, ‘The Big Picture’ was the United States Army’s primary means of marketing itself to the U.S. public, particularly between the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Drawing for the first time on archival records concerning the show’s production, this paper documents how information officers sought to escape the stock-footage straightjacket embedded in the show’s origins and showcase an Atomic Age Army standing sentry at the Cold War’s ramparts. Ultimately, they fought dual losing battles against parsimonious budgets and public indifference, while their insistence on content control hampered potential exposure in more appealing prime-time entertainment programmes.