Julian Richards

Reactive community mobilization in Europe: the case of the English Defence League

There seems little doubt that one of the processes experienced by the industrialized world in the post-Cold War era is that of a rise in Far Right movements and sentiments within political and social discourse. One of the issues around which many Far Right groups in Europe appear to be coalescing at the beginning of the twenty-first century is an antagonism towards Islam and Muslims within Europe (in some areas the Roma are more often the target of acrimony). In the UK, a new pressure-group emerged in 2009, the English Defence League (EDL), which has commenced a series of demonstrations across English cities, explicitly focused around an expressed opposition to the growth of ‘radical Islam’ within the UK. Most of these demonstrations have descended into street violence, often through clashes with the opposing Unite Against Fascism organization. This paper summarizes the results of some initial investigations into the EDL, and finds that, despite its protestations to the contrary, it conforms to many of the norms of a traditional Far Right movement.

The road not taken: understanding barriers to the development of police intelligence practice

ABSTRACT To better understand police intelligence practice, we examined practitioners’ views of their work and their relations with the wider law enforcement community. We surveyed intelligence staff (n = 110) and interviewed a random sample of respondents (n = 12). Our analysis suggested that traditionalism and the dominant action-oriented culture limit the organization’s understanding of intelligence practice. Largely, the focus in that context has been on street cops’ propensity to reject reflection in favor of action, but intelligence practitioners need also look to themselves. Too often, the philosophy of “need to know” is prioritized over its antithesis, “dare to share.” Though perceived by practitioners as low-risk and consistent with organizational norms, we argue that inappropriately applied “need to know” is the enemy of efficiency and real accountability, offering low levels of reward and discouraging the kinds of partnership, reciprocity, and multi-directional knowledge transfer that policing needs to be successful in the information age. We reconceptualized an interactivity/isolationism continuum, used in the natural sciences, to help interpret that phenomenon. We argue that isolationism is but one factor in a complex organizational dynamic, but it is a significant one because it can subtly limit the influence and reach of the intelligence milieu in previously unacknowledged ways.

Identity and Security Narratives in Contemporary Britain

This chapter takes the principles developed in previous chapters concerning identity theory, political myth and discourse analysis, and applies them to three indicative case studies. These comprise: an official narrative about “multiculturalism” delivered by the former British Prime Minister, David Cameron; a critical Islamist narrative in the shape of a response to Cameron’s speech by Hizb-ut Tahrir; and a “Far Right” perspective represented by a statement by the English Defence League (EDL) about inter-community relations in contemporary Britain. All of these narratives to differing degrees display the use of language in weaving an identity politics, and the conscious development of political myth.

Radicalization, Extremism, Terrorism

The third chapter builds on the second by applying an understanding of identity theory to some of the core questions at the heart of contemporary security studies in Western, metropolitan societies such as Britain; namely the somewhat contested notions of radicalization, extremism and terrorism. The chapter begins by noting that “radicalization” has become a firmly-established and normative notion in Western security policy, but is not a universally understood or accepted process. Similarly, because the words radical and extreme are essentially relative concepts, the question of Britishness and the degree to which a person can deviate from it in radical ways is also relative and subjective. In this way, it is argued, identities in a security context cannot be easily described as essentialist factors.

Intersections Between Identity and Security

The second chapter provides a comprehensive review of the link between identity theory and security, promoting the argument in so doing that “an understanding of identity theory provides a key epistemological framework for discussions of contemporary security challenges.” The analysis frames itself around the interplay between macro- and micro-level approaches to identity formation and politicization, which, in the world of security studies is often articulated as the question of “push and pull factors”. A comprehensive review of identity theory is undertaken in this chapter, starting with the work of William James on “multiple selves” and moving into debates about symbolic interactionism and performativity in the contemporary context.

Reactive Identity Movements

The fourth chapter takes social movement theory as a mechanism for considering ways in which intersubjective identity interactions deliver a reactive identity politics, manifested most notably in the contemporary West as Far Right and populist politics. In security terms, such processes can also lead to “cumulative extremism” as a major security threat to society. In the British context, the recent rise of the English Defence League (EDL) on the populist right is taken as an indicative example of a dangerously reactive identity politics and narrative.

Political Myth and Discourse Analysis in Security

The fifth chapter delivers a discussion on political myth, focusing initially on questions of nationalism and identity. Note is made of how, in contemporary postmaterialist politics, it appears that Barthes’s notion of “depoliticized language” in political myth-making is not only used to reject the narratives of “elites” politically, but is particularly so in the hands of new populist parties which emphasize identity politics as alternatives to supposedly bankrupt mainstream thinking. In a European context, political myth is central to the relationship between Europe and Islam on both sides; in terms of an Islamist narrative of perpetual conflict with Islam; and a notion of Europeanness which supposedly excludes Islam in essence.

State Policy and Strategy: Prevent, “Multi-agency” Responses, and the Way Forward

In this chapter, questions of British state policy in the areas of counter-extremism and counter-terrorism are examined from the perspective of their effects on identity. The frame for analysis is an expansive chronological examination, which notes how contemporary counter-terrorism policy was shaped by the experience of “the Troubles” in Northern Ireland in the latter part of the twentieth century. A detailed and empirical analysis is then undertaken of the contemporary “Prevent” policy, which lies at the heart of British security debates and narratives in a most controversial form.

Intelligence Studies, Academia and Professionalization

ABSTRACT Intelligence studies has grown tremendously as an academic discipline in recent years. At key international conferences in the field, such as the Intelligence Studies Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) annual convention, there is not only a broad range of topics under discussion, but attendance by a good mix of academics and practitioners. In many ways, this reflects the broadening and deepening of security actors in the post-Cold War world. But this depth and breadth poses interesting challenges for the discipline: Should it be an interdisciplinary field of study or a more defined and prescribed discipline? Perhaps more importantly, is intelligence studies an adjunct to the intelligence sector or a critical commentator on it? This article seeks to address these questions, arguing for a broad, interdisciplinary approach that combines critical education about intelligence with equipping prospective policymakers with professional skills.

Needles in Haystacks: Law, Capability, Ethics, and Proportionality in Big Data Intelligence-Gathering

As we move resolutely into a Big Data age, it appears that a sense of ‘panoptic panic’, boosted by the Snowden revelations, about the expanding capabilities of our intelligence agencies is growing amongst sections of the public. Law enforcers and security officials will often speak about the need to amass large amounts of data to find needles in haystacks, but civil libertarians and cyber-utopianists warn of a slide towards Orwellian powers of mass surveillance. Big Data implies an epistemological shift in data analysis, and opens up new opportunities for security agencies to become more proactive and pre-emptive. This chapter argues that, while the risks of such a move must be recognised, we must also be able to deliver security responsibly.