Political Mind Series 2024 | Global Insecurity. The Rise and Rise of Global Anti-terrorism

There is surely no field of public discourse that has challenged human rights law more seriously than that of counter-terrorism. Each shares the same roots in liberal democracy but push such polities in radical different directions. Terrorism, ‘the weapon of the weak’ to use that ‘oft-repeated dictum’1 uses violence against civilian actors as a means of communicating a message to power rather than as a way of scoring a military success over it. This sort of action thrives in open societies because it is in such places that can be found the freedom necessary to the successful execution of its violence: the insecure transport system; the open sporting and cultural venues; the (relative) absence of state surveillance; the tolerance of radical speech. 2 With its indiscriminate reach, its invariable suddenness, its calculated brutality, and its disregard of traditional laws of war, terrorist violence causes terror not only to whose unlucky enough to be subject to it but to those who – witnessing what has happened - fear they might be next. It is this randomness that drives a horror of such violence into the heart of liberal society. 3 Somehow we think that we can by our own careful actions avoid the car accident, or the armed robber, or the burglar, but who can plan against an assault on a movie theatre, or the hotel at which we are staying or the concert to which we have gone? Those whose positions of responsibility mean they are the intended recipients of the message so bloodily communicated - our political leaders; our police chiefs - take particular umbrage at being required by the perpetrators to try to glean the meaning intended by such deliberate carnage. Why should they when the message has been so bloodily delivered? Surely the right response is to crack down hard on those responsible, not listen sympathetically to what they say? And while pursuing past wrongdoers those same leaders feel compelled to prevent further atrocities: there are other stable doors that can be locked even if this one, violent horse has bolted.

Please note: This event will be available for 1 week to all registered participants. This is to allow international attendees to enjoy the event at a more appropriate time in their time zone. After this time, the recording will no longer be available.