NCJ Number
222705
Journal
Law & Policy Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2008 Pages: 141-167
Date Published
April 2008
Length
27 pages
Annotation
This study examined the legislative response to the transnational terrorist threat in Canada and Australia in the immediate aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.
Abstract
The article first examines the nature and threat of contemporary transnational terrorism from the perspective of recent theorizing about risk, uncertainty, and catastrophe. The theoretical analysis draws on Francois Ewald's account (2002) of the "Precautionary Principle," which bases security measures on precaution that imagines the worst possible scenario that could be executed by an infinitely deceptive, malicious demon. Features of transnational terrorism and its method of operation have led to the popular view that the enemy is among us in local cells that have targeted for violence those places where we work, travel, and shop daily. The legislative process in the immediate aftermath of September 11 in both Canada and Australia (2001-2003) shows a precautionary mentality within the governments that emphasizes "do something quickly" rather than adopt a more cautious deliberative approach to rational change. Although legislative bodies followed the usual procedure of generating submissions and witnesses that contested popular public and government claims regarding the nature of the terrorist problem and proposals for change, legislators' actions reflected their assessments of the kind of symbolic actions that would quell public fears. Legislators must learn to engage more constructively with public anxieties about future terrorist acts. Transparent processes of policymaking and debate among security and intelligence experts in the critique of alternative legislative proposals is necessary in order for the public to understand various legislative proposals, their limitations, possible adverse consequences, and why existing measures for public safety and national security are not adequate to meet the terrorist threat. 12 notes and 62 references