Living in surveillance societies: The normalisation of surveillance in Europe and the threat of Britain’s bad example

Citation

Murakami Wood D & Webster CWR (2009) Living in surveillance societies: The normalisation of surveillance in Europe and the threat of Britain’s bad example. Journal of Contemporary European Research, 5 (2), pp. 259-273. http://www.jcer.net/index.php/jcer/article/view/159

Abstract
This article argues that surveillance is becoming increasingly normalised across Europe and that this is altering the landscape of liberty and security. It identifies this normalisation as a product of the globalisation of surveillance, the domestication of security, the desire of the European Union (EU) to create a distinct leading role in security, and the influence of the 'bad example' of the United Kingdom (UK). The article uses the two very different examples of video-surveillance and electronic public services in the UK to make this case and to argue for both stronger resistance to calls to make human rights more flexible in a risk and security-driven age and more detailed research into the differences between emerging surveillance societies in Europe.

Keywords
CCTV; Security; Surveillance; Surveillance Society; Electronic surveillance Social aspects; Computers and civilization; Information technology Social aspects

Journal
Journal of Contemporary European Research: Volume 5, Issue 2

People

Professor William Webster

Personal Chair, Management, Work and Organisation