From Counter Subversion to Counter Insurgency - Comparing MI5's role in British Guiana, Aden and the Northern Ireland Civil Rights crisis.

As the imperial security service, MI5 operated throughout the British Empire and in virtually every instance of decolonisation after the Second World War. Using both secondments inside the Colonial Office (SIAs) and representatives within the colonies, dependencies and protectorates (SLOs) MI5 operated in a more diverse range of political situations than any part of the military. This paper suggests that two main modes of conduct were deployed in the empire’s trouble spots by MI5 – Counter Subversion and Counter Insurgency – and that investigation of these instances can be used to shed light on MI5’s less documented role in the early years of the Northern Ireland Troubles.