Adam Molnar

Radicalisation theories, policing practices, and “the future of terrorism?”

ABSTRACT This article explores how theories of radicalisation have placed an emphasis on the development of an indicators-based approach to identify individuals who might engage in politically motivated violence. We trace how policing agencies have juxtaposed the search for indicators as a defence against criticisms of racial profiling. However, through an analysis of Canadian counter-terrorism training programmes, we demonstrate that the search for radicalisation indicators reaffirms pre-emptive and discriminatory security practices. We insist that despite efforts to theorise radicalisation outside of the practices of the “war on terror”, current trends risk rationalising prejudicial policing that affirms social exclusion and injustice.

Computer network operations and ‘rule-with-law’ in Australia

Computer Network Operations (CNOs) refers to government intrusion and/or interference with networked information communication infrastructures for the purposes of law enforcement and security intelligence. The following article explores how CNOs are lawfully authorised in Australia, and considers the extent to which the current use of CNOs are subject to ‘counter-law’ developments. More specifically, the article finds that the scope and application of CNOs in Australia are subject to weak legislative controls, that while such operations might be ‘lawful’, they undermine rule of law and disturb core democratic freedoms.

Privacy, surveillance, and the democratic potential of the social web

This chapter argues that theories about privacy would benefit from embracing deliberative democratic theory on the grounds that it addresses harms to democracy, and widens our understandings of privacy infringements in social networking environments. We fi rst explore how social networking services (SNS) have evolved through diff erent phases and how they enable political deliberation. Subsequently, we discuss more traditional individualistic and intersubjective theories of privacy in relation to social networking and point out their limitations in identifying and redressing social networking-related harms. We then critique emerging claims concerning the social value of privacy in the context of the social Web. Here we point out how these theories might identify non-individualized harms, yet, at the same time, suff er important challenges in application. We conclude by arguing that deliberative democratic theory can add some critical insights into the privacy harms encountered on the contemporary “social Web” that are only imperfectly understood by individualistic and social conceptions of privacy

Managing flows during mega-events: taking account of internal and external flows in public order policing operations

ABSTRACT The article examines the configurations and organisational dynamics of policing mega-events through the metaphor of ‘flows’. Using the Brisbane 2014 Group of 20 Summit (G20) as an explorative case study, we suggest that the metaphor of flows may not only hold value with regard to understanding how objects of policing are rendered visible and manageable, but also how it might enable us to take stock of internal flows of data, information and intelligence within public order policing operations. We examine how police pursued their goal of containing and controlling protest flows as well as managing rapid intra- and inter-organisational flows. In particular, we examine how police and security actors designed what we call ‘flow-based’ architectures and the underlying organisational and situational contingencies shaping how these structures and systems form and function. The article concludes by calling for greater attention on internal dynamics of policing operations which, we argue, can potentially be advanced by drawing on the metaphor of flows.

Policing political mega-events through ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ tactics: reflections on local and organisational tensions in public order policing

ABSTRACT Public order policing has long been a central area of concern for policing political mega-events. Following the Toronto 2010 Group of 20 (G20) meeting, however, public order policing policy and practice attracted renewed attention that has had a considerable influence on subsequent political mega-events. The Toronto G20 involved up to 20,000 protesters, over 1000 arrests, and widespread criticisms against the Toronto Police Service and Royal Canadian Mounted Police regarding excessive use of force. Using the Brisbane 2014 G20 as a case study, this article reflects on the localised tensions involved in public order policing in the context of political mega-events. We look inside the operations of Brisbane 2014, which was heavily influenced by the events from Toronto 2010, to focus on the tensions that underpin public order policing tactics in the context of political mega-events and call attention to the significance of these tensions in shaping policing policy and practice. More particularly, we examine how tensions between competing perceptions of risk amongst security actors in relation to more formal preferred strategies and tactics to manage risk can shape various public order policing outcomes. We trace these local and organisational tensions as they relate to so-called ‘hard’ tactics such as intelligence operations and spatial containment strategies and ‘soft’ tactics such as negotiated management strategies and relationship building with protest groups.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Law Enforcement in Australia and Canada: Governance Through ‘Privacy’ in an Era of Counter-Law?

Comparing Australian and Canadian government attempts to regulate aerial surveillance technology provides an interesting window into how unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) surveillance, and surveillance technologies more broadly, are enabled and constrained by factors beyond the conventional purview of national security and law enforcement activities. This chapter examines current uses of UAVs in Australia and Canada, and considers the associated legal, privacy and social implications of their use in each jurisdiction. The chapter considers how institutional drivers and regulatory responses to UAV technologies in each country—shaped by a configuration of transport safety requirements, privacy regimes, technical developments, laws, and social norms—inform different pathways of emergence of UAV technologies and strategies of surveillance in national security and law enforcement.