WELCOME HOME, HISTORY
Resistance, Security and Terror
Today
What does it mean for History to have ‘ended’?
Do we live in an age of clashing civilisations?
Does the war on terror mean the end of protest?
Does repression secure our freedom?
What is meant by ‘the end of history?’ Is this term still relevant in the 21st century?
Returning to the sociological
We have focused on the influence of (global) social life on individuals
Today we consider how the threat of terrorism impacts upon our capacity for agency: Has the threat of terrorism reduced our capacity to resist power?
As always, our intention to think critically about the (global) society in which we live
Getting cold
The Soviet Union (The USSR) and Germany were initially allies in World War II until Germany invaded in 1941
The war on the ‘Eastern Front’ continued until 1945 when the USSR liberated Berlin, making the USSR and the West nominal allies, although this quickly changed
The ‘Cold War’ dominated much of the reminder of the 20th Century, exemplified by the 1961 constructed of a 111km call to divide up East and West Berlin
Hot and Cold
The Fall
The Berlin Wall, which divided East Berlin (Communist) from West Berlin (Capitalist), symbolised the Cold War divide
Because of substantial differences in wealth and freedoms, East Berliners were escaping to the West
After standing as symbol of oppression for 28 years, in 1989 the wall was suddenly overcome and Germany was reunited in 1990
The End of History
With the fall of the Berlin wall and the subsequent collapse of communism, it was thought that ‘History had Ended’
American conservative political scientist Francis Fukuyama stated: "What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of postwar history, but the end of History as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.“
Without significant ideological disputes, the 1990s produced a period remarkable stability and prosperity
Can you remember where you were on 9/11?
History returns 
If Fukuyama had argued that debates over how we should live had ended, 9/11 signalled the presence of violence resistance to this idea in dramatic, Hollywood-style
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For many 9/11 was also an end to ironic postmodernism and a time to return to reality and traditional values
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It fit into a burgeoning American political agenda that had redefined the world as a clash between two different ways of life
The Clash of Civilisations
The idea of a ‘clash of civilisations’ was proposed by Samuel Huntington (1996)
Following the end of the ‘Cold War’, Huntington suggested that future conflicts will be framed by reference to religion and culture rather than between nation-states
This thesis was developed in response to Francis Fukuyama’s idea of the ‘End of History’, but is often referenced in the ‘war on terror’
Critics argue that it constructs an ‘us’ against ‘them’ ideology, ignoring differentiation within ‘civilisations’ and promoting US imperialism
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Global ‘civilisations’ 18
The clash within us
For many there is an ‘us against them’ situation not just globally, but within Western society
An explicit rejection of multiculturalism is often tied to a fear of ‘extremism’
We fear both that there are those who don’t follow our rules and that we don’t know who they are
Islamophobia
The underlying agenda of the clash of civilisations thesis is the battle between Christianity and Islam
Islam is often positioned as the enemy and opposite of Western ideals
Islamophobia, which came to prominence post 9/11, is a particularly strong prejudice that includes an emotional response of anger or anxiety
Islamophobia has led to deep seated prejudiced stereotypes of Muslims
Suitable enemies
The ‘clash of civilisations’ is a strong example of group dynamics on a macro-scale
In order to produce coherent understandings in a chaotic/complex situation, we find an outsider (a ‘suitable enemy’) to blame it on and secure our ideological attachments
In pre-Nazi Germany, Hitler presented the ‘Jew’ as the cause of all of Germany’s problems, thus reducing a complex crisis to an understandable situation
Likewise, immigrants and outsiders are often presented as the embodiment of our struggles to maintain our ideological identities
These fears are embodied in horror or action movies by a monster or villain
Do you feel like there is a ‘them’ to be against?
The 7/7 attacks
The attacks on London of July 7th, 2005 killed 56 people and injured 700 through four suicide attacks
There were three bombs on tubes (Aldgate, Edgware Road and Russell Square) and on a bus near Tavistock Square
The relative impossibility of defending against these attacks has created an ever-present fear of terrorism
Can you remember where you were on 7/7?
Think of something that is ‘highly likely’ to happen today
Do you ever worry about the possibility of terrorism in London?
Terror
The concept of ‘Terror’ first emerged with the French Revolutionaries of the late 18th century
Whilst the French Revolution was driven by the desire for ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’, it was maintained through the violent repression of enemies: up to 40,000 people were executed
Revolutionary governments often use these practices of extreme political violence to suppress resistance and make a clean break from previous regimes
Terror and stability
Thomas Jefferson : “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. ... God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion; what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms.”
The implication is that terror and political violence is used when democratic mechanisms are no longer available or are ineffective
The ‘end of history’ suggested that these kinds of struggles belong to the past
Terror today
According to the US State Department, terrorism is “politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience” (Cohen and Kennedy, 2013, p.203)
This definition deliberately excludes government and military action
Terrorism is ultimately a socially defined form of political violence
Total War
The 9/11 attacks created a new era of global conflict known as the ‘war on terror’
The war on terror has redefined political conflict, creating an almost ‘total war’ in which everyone is a potential combatant and the line between civilian and solider, war and peace, have become blurred
Eternal vigilance
Are you ‘viligant’?
Restricting liberties
The Patriot Act, which has been strongly criticised for its affect on civil liberties and increasing the power of the government over the people, was signed into law in October 2001
In Britain the Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act was passed in 2001
This act:
Enabled the home secretary to indefinitely detain, without charge or trial, foreign nationals who are suspected of terrorism.
Grants the police and security services, including foreign agencies, the power to ask public bodies, including schools, hospitals, customs and inland revenue to disclose personal records during terrorism and criminal investigations.
Restricting the restriction of liberties
The legislation was followed by the Terrorism Act 2006 following the ‘7/7’ bombings and modified by the Protection of Freedom Act in 2012
Terrorism suspects can now only be held without charge for 14 days.
Strong restrictions remain, but in a different form
The Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill could force universities to monitor ‘extremism’ on campus – but was vetoed by the Lib Dems
Should I be ‘viligant’?
Big Brother is watching 
There are up to 5.9 million CCTV cameras in the UK
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This massive surveillance network is a strong threat to civil liberties as private actions become (potentially) public
The panopticon effect
The panopticon was an institutional building designed by philosopher Jeremy Bentham that allowed for surveillance of prisoners without them knowing when they are being watched
‘A new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind’
Michel Foucault considered the panopticon to be a metaphor for the internalisation of modern discipline
The NSA and you
The National Security Agency (NSA) scandal broke in June 2013 when a massive domestic and foreign spying surveillance programme was revealed
This programme had long been rumoured, but the scale and specific details still stood as a shock to the establishment and to the public
Not only was the US government spying on foreign governments, but it was revealed that access to personal social network accounts was also possible
Do you feel like you are being watched?
Democratic surveillance
The explicit defence of these programmes, one passionately argued by many, is that total surveillance is required to stop terrorist activity
Conversely, this surveillance culture has entered into non-violent dissident groups, including student and environmental protest groups
For many, government infiltration into activist and protest movements is an extreme threat to democratic participation
That is, if governments have direct access to all information, do they have the total power to prevent anti-government protest and resistance?
If you are doing nothing wrong, do you have nothing to fear?
Security vs. Freedom 
These surveillance measures evoke the new form of political struggle between liberty and security that will define your generation
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If the state serves to protect citizens, at what point does this protection become repressive?
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This question returns the debate to Robespierre and political repression: Does liberty have to be protected with blood and repression?
Torture 
This debate is particularly salient in regards to torture
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The threat of terrorist acts has bought torture into public debate, asking whether it is legitimate to use torture to obtain information that would prevent acts of terror
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Water-boarding, Guantanamo Bay and Rendition have become particular issues
Rendition 
Rendition involves transferring an individual to another country without their consent
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This has allowed the US and UK to transport foreign nationals to other countries where they can be legally tortured to obtain information
Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay, which the US leases off Cuba, has been used to hold ‘terror suspects’ since 2001
Suspects are those determined to be part of the war on terror
These suspects were considered outside of the Geneva Convention
The prison has created dilemmas about how to process the uncharged but imprisoned people
Drones
Drones are unmanned planes
These drones have been operating outside of the US to attack ‘terrorist targets’, particularly in Pakistan and Yemen
These strikes have been criticised as ‘targeted killings’ of ‘militants’
Who are we at war with?
An ‘enemy combatant’ was traditionally defined as member of the enemies’ armed forces who receive rights as prisoners of war under the 3rd Geneva convention
Since the war on terror is indefinitely defined, people can be detained as enemy combatants rather than as civilians, making them prisoners of war who can be detained indefinitely (during wartime)
Rather than presuming innocence, anyone can be the subject of surveillance because they are potentially an enemy combatant
Unlawful combatants suspected of terrorist practices can be detained without rights and far from any defined battlefield
Executive execution
US citizens have been killed outside of the US by drones
These attacks are a form of capital punishment based on secret evidence and without trial
Moreover, they are often not based on terrorist actions, but the possibility of action
Given that drones do surveillance over the US, there is a very real possibly of these extrajudicial killings occurring within the US
How far is too far?
In summary
If the end of the Cold War appeared to bring in a new era of prosperity, this was ended abruptly by the events of 9/11
The ‘war on terror’ has led to a ‘total war’ of ‘us against them’
These events created a range of new security measures that have shifted the balance between freedom and security
Has the UK lost the liberal values it is seeking to defend?
Next Week
Course Review and Essay Preparation
Important annoucement
Final essay now due April 20th