Global Surveillance And Policing Borders Security Identity

Since the 9.11 attacks in North America and the accession of the Schengen Accord in Europe there has been widespread concern with international borders, the passage of people and the flow of information across borders. States have fundamentally changed the ways in which they police and monitor this mobile population and its personal data. This book brings together leading authorities in the field who have been working on the common problem of policing and surveillance at physical and virtual borders at a time of increased perceived threat. It is concerned with both theoretical and empirical aspects of the ways in which the modern state attempts to control its borders and mobile population. It will be essential reading for students, practitioners, policy makers.

Since the 9.11 attacks in North America and the accession of the Schengen Accord in Europe there has been widespread concern with international borders, the passage of people and the flow of information across borders. States have fundamentally changed th.

Prominent among the quests for post-9/11 security are developments in surveillance, especially at national borders. These developments are not new, but many of them have been extended and intensified. The result? More and more people and populations are counted as "suspicious" and, at the same time, surveillance techniques become increasingly opaque and secretive. Lyon argues that in the aftermath of 9/11 there have been qualitative changes in the security climate: diverse databases containing personal information are being integrated; biometric identifiers, such as iris scans, are becoming more popular; consumer data are merged with those obtained for policing and intelligence, both nationally and across borders. This all contributes to the creation of ever-widening webs of surveillance. But these systems also sort people into categories for differential treatment, the most obvious case being that of racial profiling. This book assesses the consequences of these trends. Lyon argues that while extraordinary legal measures and high-tech systems are being adopted, promises made on their behalf - that terrorism can be prevented - are hard to justify. Furthermore, intensifying surveillance will have social consequences whose effects could be far-reaching: the undermining of social trust and of democratic participation.

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the question remains ’Do good fences still make good neighbours’? Since the Great Wall of China, the Antonine Wall, built in Scotland to support Hadrian's Wall, the Roman ’Limes’ or the Danevirk fence, the ’wall’ has been a constant in the protection of defined entities claiming sovereignty, East and West. But is the wall more than an historical relict for the management of borders? In recent years, the wall has been given renewed vigour in North America, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border, and in Israel-Palestine. But the success of these new walls in the development of friendly and orderly relations between nations (or indeed, within nations) remains unclear. What role does the wall play in the development of security and insecurity? Do walls contribute to a sense of insecurity as much as they assuage fears and create a sense of security for those 'behind the line'? Exactly what kind of security is associated with border walls? This book explores the issue of how the return of the border fences and walls as a political tool may be symptomatic of a new era in border studies and international relations. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this volume examines problems that include security issues ; the recurrence and/or decline of the wall; wall discourses ; legal approaches to the wall; the ’wall industry’ and border technology, as well as their symbolism, role, objectives and efficiency.

National identity cards are in the news. While paper ID documents have been used in some countries for a long time, today's rapid growth features high-tech IDs with built-in biometrics and RFID chips. Both long-term trends towards e-Government and the more recent responses to 9/11 have prompted the quest for more stable identity systems. Commercial pressures mix with security rationales to catalyze ID development, aimed at accuracy, efficiency and speed. New ID systems also depend on computerized national registries. Many questions are raised about new IDs but they are often limited by focusing on the cards themselves or on "privacy." Playing the Identity Card shows not only the benefits of how the state can "see" citizens better using these instruments but also the challenges this raises for civil liberties and human rights. ID cards are part of a broader trend towards intensified surveillance and as such are understood very differently according to the history and cultures of the countries concerned.

Since 9/11 Western states have sought to integrate 'securitisation' measures within migration regimes as asylum seekers and other migrant categories come to be seen as agents of social instability or as potential terrorists. Treating migration as a security threat has therefore increased insecurity amongst migrant and ethnic minority populations.

More than 30 years after its birth, the Schengen area of free movement is under siege in Europe: new barriers are being erected along land borders, military assets are increasingly deployed to patrol the Mediterranean, while sophisticated surveillance tools are used to keep track of the flows of people crossing into European space. Bringing together perspectives from political geography, critical criminology and legal theory, Policing Mobility Regimes offers a systematic analysis of the impact that Frontex is having on migration control strategies at the EU level and offers a detailed empirical description of the agency’s organization and operational activities. In addition, this book explores the meaning behind the attempt at developing a post-national border control strategy and what effect this might have on the geopolitics of Europe’s borders. It contributes to the wider theoretical debate on the relationships among migration, security and the transformation of borders in contemporary Europe. An accessible and compelling read, this book will appeal to all those engaged with criminology, sociology, geography, politics and law as well as all those interested in learning about Europe’s changing borders.

Focusing on contemporary challenges, this major new Handbook offers a wide-ranging collection of cutting-edge essays from leading scholars in the field of Security Studies. The field of Security Studies has undergone significant change during the past twenty years, and is now one of the most dynamic sub-disciplines within International Relations. It now encompasses issues ranging from pandemics and environmental degradation to more traditional concerns about direct violence, such as those posed by international terrorism and inter-state armed conflict. A comprehensive volume, comprising articles by both established and up-and-coming scholars, the Handbook of Security Studies identifies the key contemporary topics of research and debate today. This Handbook is a benchmark publication with major importance both for current research and the future of the field. It will be essential reading for all scholars and students of Security Studies, War and Conflict Studies, and International Relations.