Anti-terrorism, Citizenship and Security Dr. Lee Jarvis (University of East Anglia) & Dr. Michael Lister (Oxford Brookes University) 1 December 2014

Context: today November 2014: Threat level from international terrorism: severe Home Secretary: 40 terror plots foiled since 7/7 Lee Rigby inquiry Publication of Counter-terrorism and Security bill Counter-terrorism awareness week

Context: historical UK (anti-)terrorism experience: Lengthy confrontation with terrorism Partition of Ireland: first dramatic changes to the UK’s penal code Ten major pieces of anti-terrorism legislation since 1974 alone For critics, UK anti-terrorism law: Hasty, distinctive, continuous, repetitive

Four questions How are anti-terrorism powers understood and evaluated by different publics? How do anti-terrorism powers impact on citizenship? How do anti-terrorism powers impact on security? How do anti-terrorism, citizenship and security fit together?

Our research Fourteen focus groups: Ethnic identity: white/black/Asian Location: Metropolitan (London, Birmingham); Non- metropolitan (Oldham, Swansea, Llanelli, Oxfordshire) Open-ended questions on security and anti-terrorism powers: Group dynamics within conversations Flexibility of public views Shared sources of knowledge Depth – rather than breadth - of understanding

Evaluations of Anti-terrorism

Sources of scepticism Create a climate of fear: ‘creating a complete fear culture’ (London, Asian, Female) ‘It’s the reds under the beds thing and it’s come back round again and now it’s aimed at the way a person looks or dresses’ (Oldham, Asian, Female) Alienation of minority communities: I’m being watched, I’m being searched, I’m a target group, I’m not safe’ (Swansea, Black, Female) ‘It concerns me that people may be driven to terrorism, who might be law abiding and so on, by the very treatment they get by the police’ (Llanelli, White, Male).

Sources of scepticism Ineffective: ‘you’re never going to catch the people by doing that... you’re just going to be suspecting everyone around you’ (London, Asian, Female) ‘do we look like terrorists? Do we look like followers of Al-Qaeda?’ (Llanelli, White, Male) ‘laws don’t solve social problems. We have made these terrorism laws and terrorism has not gone away’ (London, Black, Female). Unnecessary ‘I don’t believe that a lot of these things are necessary’ (London, Black, Female) ‘there is a, sort of, kneejerk reaction, let’s get rid of all the bins or whatever because somebody might put a parcel in it and it might blow up, but it’s a sign of the times, I think’ (Oldham, White, Female);

Sources of scepticism Security theatre: ‘they’re all about creating the impression that somebody’s doing something’ (London, White, Male) ‘I think these measures are only put in place to almost make people feel safe’ (London, Black, Female) ‘if you say anti-terrorism it is like a mantra: oh yes, we must have it’ (Llanelli, White, Female)

Sources of scepticism Fear of misuse: They have to be very careful about their misuse. They have to be very, very, very careful’ (London, Black, Female). ‘the power to stop and search…I don’t think that’s an anti-terrorism thing at all. I think that’s a catch-all so they can, you know, they see three black guys in a car, they’ll stop it because they think there’s going to be drugs in there’ (Oldham, White, Male).

Acquiescence Terrorism threat: ‘there are people out there, aren’t there, that are quite, you know, a threat. And, you know, what do you do? (Oxford, White, Female). ‘they seem unethical…but for the last couple of minutes I was thinking, what else can you do? (Swansea, White, Male) Public ignorance: I can’t quantify how successful these anti-terrorism measures are at keeping the nation secure’ (Oxford, White, Female). ‘The problem with terrorism is that you don’t know [...] what the threat is, so you don’t know whether they’re more effective’ (London, White, Male)

Acquiescence Reassurance of seeing ‘something’ done: ‘To some extent [I feel safer, because]…it gives me the impression that something is being done’ (Swansea, Black, Male) I’m happy to go through and be seen naked on that scanner if it means that I know that everybody else is’ (Oldham, White, Male) Defending British culture or values: ‘I don’t want to see people on the streets at Wootton Bassett when they’re bringing the soldiers home. They’re, you know, calling them killers and this, that. Have a bit more respect’ (Oldham, White, Male)

Acquiescence Judicial safeguards and protections: ‘I do have faith in the justice system... obviously the justice system has its flaws, but…as a Muslim if I was to say something and I know that I was right on that matter then I would have faith in the system…I’m not scared of what I say; I’m quite open about my beliefs’ (London, Asian, Male) The law is, ‘fundamentally right and just’ (London, Asian, Female)

Anti-Terrorism & Citizenship For some, mainly white respondents, little or no impact or concerns ‘All this is happening on a level that does not touch us’ (Oldham, White, Male) Many (but not all) ethnic minority citizens (not just Muslims) perceived diminishment of citizenship Rights: Perception of being targeted ‘All of these [anti-terrorism measures] are designed to control Muslims’ (Birmingham, Asian, Male)

Anti-Terrorism & Citizenship Participation ‘I would love to change things, which is probably why I have a passion for politics. But right now, currently, I would rather keep my mouth shut and not say anything’ (London, Asian, Female) Identity ‘It doesn’t make me feel part of Britain as much as I did… after that last ten years… the way I’m looked at, I don’t feel as part of the British society, as accepted’ (Oldham, Asian, Female) Duties ‘Why should you help a government that doesn’t want to help you?’ (Swansea, Black, Female)

Conceptions of Security What do you understand by the term security? 6 distinct answers Safety/survival: ‘security means like to protect your life’ (Oxford, Asian, Female) Belonging: ‘the ability to feel comfortable where you are’ (London, White, Female) Hospitality: ‘I think if we feel welcome we’d probably feel more secure’ (Swansea, Black, Male)

Conceptions of Security Equality: ‘Security is equality, to have all the same rights’ (Swansea, Black, Male) Freedom: ‘I equate it... to freedom… to feeling that you can do what you want… within the confines of the law... without fear’ (London, Asian, Male) Security as negative: ‘security to me, it’s an affiliation with military, martial law’ (Birmingham, Asian, Male)

Security & Anti-Terrorism Security as a prism through which anti-terrorism is read Security as survival/safety = effectiveness of anti- terrorism “Brian”: ‘it’s [security] about maintaining what you have’ ‘I mean the whole point here is, without suspicion, so does that mean they’re just randomly stopping and searching people and hoping to find amongst the millions of people moving around that they’re going to catch someone? That doesn’t seem that likely’

Security & Anti-Terrorism Security as freedom = language of rights “Amir” ‘I equate it [security] to freedom, really; to feeling that you can do what you want and be where you want within the confines of the law’ ‘You need as a country to be clear on where you stand and what you believe in… if you believe in… liberty of the individual, you believe in fundamental human rights… And something like this [twenty-eight-day pre charge detention] flies completely in the face of, you know, one of the fundamental tenets of being innocent… until you are proven guilty… Does that lead to greater security? No. I don’t think it does… It leads to a personal sense of insecurity’

Security & Anti-Terrorism Security as belonging = impact on communities “Salma” ‘Security is like... I would really like to belong somewhere, you know, like my house or my town or my country and be accepted and that sort of thing.’ ‘What happens to somebody who gets arrested, put into jail and after twenty-eight days, no evidence, he comes out? He’s probably lost his job and everything and not many people are going to trust him after that’

Conclusions Wide range of attitudes toward anti-terrorism powers and their consequences Knowledge/understanding also variable Concerns of ethnic minority citizens especially acute Not limited to specific ethnic or religious groups Security understood in different ways This also shapes attitudes toward anti-terrorism powers and policing

Further information Contact details: Lee Jarvis: Web: Michael Lister: Web: Project website: Publications: Jarvis, L. & Lister, M. (2015) Anti-Terrorism, Citizenship and Security (Manchester University Press) Jarvis, L. & Lister, M. (2015) Critical Perspectives on Counter-Terrorism (Routledge) Jarvis, L. & Lister, M. (2013) ‘Disconnected Citizenship? The Impacts of Anti- terrorism Policy on Citizenship in the UK‘, Political Studies 61(3):

Thank you for your time