Colin Harvey: critics seek to ‘delegitimise’ Irish unity research

A human rights expert who studies the constitutional case for the reunification of Ireland has said a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation is designed to delegitimise his research and put others off examining the topic.

Colin Harvey, professor of human rights law at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), has had to take measures to protect his own safety due to threats he has received on social media.

In a still deeply divided society, Professor Harvey’s critics have labelled him an apologist for the political violence perpetrated by republicans during the Troubles and called on his institution to distance itself from his “partisan” research.

He told Times Higher Education that his work was simply aimed at laying the legal groundwork for potential referendums on the future of the island of Ireland that look likely to take place in the coming years in the wake of the instability caused by the Brexit vote.

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“To my mind it would seem bizarre if we weren’t talking about this in the open – particularly after the lack of preparation and planning we saw before Brexit,” he said.

His most recent study, Making the case for Irish unity in the EU, reignited tensions with critics. Professor Harvey described it as “in many ways a boring, tedious legal academic report” that looked at whether there were legal impediments to the European Union taking a stance on Irish unity.

It attracted the attention of the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who raised the inclusion of the QUB logo on the report with vice-chancellor Ian Greer, later telling local journalists that he was satisfied the issue was “being dealt with”.

Professor Harvey – who said the university’s logo has featured on several of his previous reports without issue – said such moves by politicians were concerning for academic freedom.

“Higher education is devolved in Northern Ireland and I think there are good reasons to be deeply concerned about political parties doing what they have been doing here in recent years,” he said.

“If this was happening at an English university, if somebody like the leader of the DUP was walking into the LSE – how would that be covered? My sense is people would be rather shocked if that was the case.

“We need to raise the alarm bells about things that are happening that really shouldn’t be. Academic freedom, institutional autonomy, the ability to conduct our work free from external interference without fear is really important here, as it is anywhere in the world.”

He said such interventions also fuelled the abuse and threats he regularly receives online, and led to negative comment in the traditional press.

Overall, Professor Harvey said, his critics have attempted to create “so much toxicity” around him that his work is delegitimised while creating a “fear factor” that may put off others from following similar research topics.

“For me, in academic life, the risk is that becomes quite an isolated place,” he said. “It feels like at the moment, my every step and move are under intense analysis – in the university and beyond.”

The charged situation has led Professor Harvey to consult the Police Service of Northern Ireland, which advised him to take a number of security measures at his home and office at the university.

“I have had to consider my personal security in more depth than I am comfortable with. It has created a lot of noise around my situation that is increasingly concerning,” he said.

“We have a history here, going back to the 1980s and 1990s, of lawyers being killed, and the misinformation and disinformation that is being widely circulated is setting me up as a target of attack by paramilitary groups if they come off ceasefire, and I put it as bluntly as that.

“Everyone I’ve spoken to around this has told me that is a real risk that I need to take seriously. I find it absolutely surreal; at times excruciatingly embarrassing to have to talk like this publicly, but I think also by drawing attention to it – calling it out publicly – I hope that does have a protective function as well.”

Despite the risks, Professor Harvey said he will keep pursuing his work. “I grew up in the midst of the conflict here, so I do feel a sense of responsibility to do the preparatory work in advance as I believe these referendums are coming and we need to be ready for them,” he said.

“In the history of the peace process, the successes – and there are still many of them – are the result of people who have stuck with it, who didn’t give up.

“I am utterly convinced about what I am doing. I have thought it through and agonised about it in enormous depth. It is motivated because I care about this place and there is a risk we will sleepwalk into these referendums without any preparation having been done.”

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com