"An Alternative to Being Shot:" Using Archives to Understand Government Decision-Making

How do government officials make controversial decisions? In 1971, British Prime Minister Edward Heath and the executive agencies of the British government (HMG) authorized its provincial government in Northern Ireland to adopt internment without trial in an effort to quell the escalating “Troubles” over the region’s sovereignty. Researchers often presume that governments’ public explanations for due-process violations —in this case (and in many others) declared necessary to safeguard against national security threats— do not fully represent government actors’ true motivations, rationales, or attitudes.