The political, economic and social landscape of Northern Ireland pre-1969, can be compared with "powder-keg" Europe before World War I. There was no one factor that led to troubles in Northern Ireland, but was rather a culmination of circumstances and events stemming from the dominance of Protestants in the region. The establishment of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association and the Campaign for Social Justice spear-headed Catholic and Nationalist campaigns to co-ordinate a fight against the Protestant State. .
Inequality in Northern Ireland is a very broad subject. I will set out to show how sectarian discrimination, inadequate housing policies, segregated and underfunded schools, lack of employment and equality in the workplace and disproportionate political representation all caused conflict in Northern Ireland. "The intensity of the Northern Irish conflict suggests that the Troubles must have been an inevitable product of the sectarian divide." The issue of sectarianism and unionist bigotry is one of the core factors at the heart of the troubles. The Special Powers Act of 1922 was the envy of the racist South African government and allowed the abuse of Catholics by British forces in particular by giving them the authority to "take all such steps necessary for preserving the peace," including internment, arrest without warrant and permission to search and seize property. .
Police brutality particularly among the former UVF 'B' Specials was commonplace and it finally found international awareness when RTE cameras caught hundreds of feet of film showing two platoons of the RUC surrounding and trapping a peaceful NICRA march on 5th October 1969. They baton charged them, sprayed water cannons at them indiscriminately and refused to allow the crowd to disperse. The footage was carried in England by the BBC and led to horror among the nationalist population.
