BITN 921_27 (Books):BITN

29/3/12

17:17

Page 27

Author Q&A: Stephen Graham

CITIES UNDER SIEGE: THE NEW MILITARY URBANISM
(Verso, 20)

Since the 9/11 attacks on New York over a decade ago, terrorism fears have fuelled the increased use of sophisticated new security and surveillance technologies. In his latest book, Stephen Graham meticulously documents the secretive world of the multi-million pound firms profiting from the changes, and explains how the counter-terror crackdown has implications that should concern us all. The main focus of your book is the militarisation of civil society, where tools such as tracking technology are increasingly deployed by police. What does this mean for us and our society? Policing is blurring with the military and intelligence operations of governments, as they mobilise collectively against non-state threats. The problem with this is that non-state threats can go all the way through from al-Qaida to people protesting against the Olympics and arms fairs. So the worrying implication is the criminalisation of dissent. Ordinary and perfectly legitimate dissent is increasingly being criminalised in public spaces and in cities as these broader ideas of security become normal. You describe moves towards ubiquitous surveillance and data mining, as authorities implement preemptive policing, which aims to catch crimes before they happen. How far is this from becoming reality? It already is a reality in many cases. If you look at how airline security works, every time a person gets on an aircraft, diverse bits of data surrounding how the ticket was bought, the preferences of the traveller, are put together and assessed by software to see if that person is deemed to be risky or not risky. Its not a Big Brother society its a huge number of Little Brothers, if you like. Advocates of the new technologies say they are necessary in a modern world that is at war with terrorism. Is that credible? I wouldnt suggest that there arent real threats from terrorism. The attacks have been horrific and there are continuous threats that do need to be addressed through robust intelligence efforts. What Im worried about is the way in which the threat of terrorism is being manipulated to build this huge security-industrial complex that increasingly takes over cities and our everyday lives. The prime beneficiaries are a hidden world of defence and security consultancies, corporations and think-tanks that are selling these rather disturbing technologies as solutions to questions of security. What can concerned citizens do? The first challenge is to become aware. So many of these things are happening stealthily and beyond scrutiny. The second thing is to assert basic rights of democratic mobilisation through dissent, lobbying and protest. Its through democratic mobilisation in cities that well be able to build a better and fairer world. Dont assume that these things are inevitable. Challenge them through politics, through social movements, through media activity. Because they need to be challenged. RYAN GALLAGHER