Learning behind Bars: How IRA Prisoners Shaped the Peace Process in Ireland

"The rich and vivid interview material in Dieter Reinisch's book will be of great interest and value to all those wanting to understand this complex, important phenomenon."

Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work? A History

"Methodologically thoughtful, historically rigorous – combining memories of Irish prisoners with British official documents, letters, and journalistic accounts – and deeply humane, this book brings us a unique understanding of the history of Ireland: a testimony of the daily life of incarcerated people as embodied subjects who in spite of reclusion influenced a political process of struggle and finally peace."

Luisa Passerini, Professor Emerita of History, European University Institute, Florence

"Learning behind Bars offers a thoughtful historical reconstruction of how, on both sides of the Irish border, republican prisoners’ processes of political self-education shaped first the republican movement and then brought to an end the conflict in the North. An essential read for those seeking to better understand recent Irish history and how republican militants behind bars lived and became political subjects inside and outside the prisons."

Lorenzo Bosi, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Social and Political Science, Scuola Normale Superiore