'Reflecting All Shades of Opinion'

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Abstract
This article examines the role of attitudinal survey data in constructing legitimacy for the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Northern Ireland. It argues that such surveys have been adopted as an important and influential instrument in the manufacture of consent in a society where the relationship between the RUC and the nationalist/Catholic community has historically been problematic. The article highlights a number of fundamental problems––both of methodology and interpretation––in the use of such surveys. Utilizing unique primary data it will be demonstrated that traditional attitudinal surveys have consistently over-represented nationalist/Catholic support for the RUC and drawn rather tendentious correlations between ‘quality of service’ delivery and issues of legitimation and public acceptability.

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