Counterterrorism as Counterinsurgency: The British Experience

• NCJ Number: 112326
• Journal: Social Justice Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1988) Pages: 83-97
• Author(s): J Hocking
• Date Published: 1988
• Length: 15 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: This article was initially prepared for the Australasian Association for European History on 'Nationalism and Historiography Conference,' August 1987.

Annotation

Britain's counterterrorism strategy is drawn from the counterinsurgency tactics of a colonial power, and this has provided reinforcement for a military solution to the intractable economic and social problems of Western capitalist nations.

Abstract

Domestic counterterrorism measures which are an adaptation of counterinsurgency techniques have five main elements: exceptional legislation, intelligence, pre-emptive controls, military involvement in civil disturbances, and media management. The 'exceptional' nature of legislative counterterrorism action is in its substantive alterations of criminal justice processes and the capacity for legal systems to maintain common-law values. The threat of terrorism has been used to justify the expansion of the domestic intelligence base, constituting an unparalleled capacity for internal security organizations to extend their intervention in democratic civil and political activities. Pre-emptive controls involve the criminalization of membership in organizations the state deems subversive apart from any otherwise criminal behavior. Overall, counterterrorism strategy has eroded citizen freedoms from state intervention and surveillance as the state aims to counter any suggestion of opposition to state policies. 3 notes and 26 references.