In fact he underlines that the dangers of terrorism have increased, particularly as of late, due to the large extent of technical advancements and innovations in financial and communication technologies. To be more precise, Beck also suggests that terrorism is “ the focal point” of the interaction between the remaining axes, the ecological and the financial threat. Īfterwards Beck identifies characteristic of the contemporary world risk society, three axes of conflict: the ecological, the global financial and, what interests us the most, the global terror, “ which suddenly broke upon us on September 11th”. The spatial dimension debounding presents risks which are note anymore identifiable with the nation state boundaries the temporal dimension changes into long term dangers in the social dimension the combined effect of the agency of many different individuals lead to problem of accounting a precise responsible. However, even if the step into the modern risk society has been marked by a tragic and violent event, the 9/11 attacks, this concept does was not born because of a higher level of danger in modern everyday life rather Beck argues that it is due to the “ de-bounding of uncotrollable risks”, especially in three different dimensions. These are, in Beck’s words, the very introductory features of the idea of risk. “ Risk is a modern concept, presumes decision-making, talking about calculating the incalculable” and most of all “ colonizing the future”. The shift from threats to risk, has been marked by historical events, such as the end of the Cold War, as well as by an entire new rationale that theoretically framed the modern reality: namely Beck’s theory of World Risk Society. Lastly this paper will define how the notion of uncertainty framed in a risk perspective, leads to the governmentality of life, biopolitics, which focuses on the importance of individuals locating the human body as the major source of identification: biometrics.Īs outlined in the introduction, the logic of risk management has recently being applied to the counter-terrorism policies in the United States and throughout Europe. Furthermore it will examine how these policies give way to exceptionalism by projecting responsibility in the future and undermining in a way the current international legal framework. In subsequent sections the discussion will illustrate how the precautionary principle leads governments to adopt zero-risk policies to fight terrorism. To explain this argument, the first section of the paper will provide a general overview on Beck’s theory of risk society, introducing the main assumptions of risk and intention which can be said the basis of the contemporary policies of counter-terrorism. On the domestic side, the prevention of bads, is leading governments to continually develop always more sophisticated and invasive technologies, biopolitics and biometrics, to better monitor their citizens, to create and order more controllable and manageable. In the international arena, the practical representation of risk in the contemporary fight on terrorism can be noticed through the presence of future, which is bringing to the zero-risks policy, inducing governments (the Bush doctrine is an example) to adopt pre-emptive actions, and give ways to the politics of exceptions (Guantamo, Abu Grahib). Moreover, it will examine their practical enforcement, the way in which they pose serious threats to the international law system and how this contributes to the shaping a new domestic order in those states where they have being applied. This paper will analyse how the concepts in Beck’s Risk Society are influencing the War on Terror. In this sense the features which have been attributed to whole rationale of the War on Terror by its advocates, seem to represent the concrete realisation of what Beck theorised in his papers. With this rationale Beck argues the definitive shift from the industrial to the modern society, which is not characterised any more by the old concept of threat, but by the new notion of risk. It is important to begin this discussion by understanding the 9/11 attacks as the expression of what Ulrich Beck defines a “ world risk society”. However it has been argued that the attacks on the World Trade Centre is unlike other terrorist attack in the past, that in many ways the attacks have given new meaning to terrorism.

How have the Concepts of Governmentality, Policing, and Risk been applied to the Study of Contemporary International Security? Discuss with Reference to to Example of Terrorism.Īfter the Septemterrorist attacks in New York, the issue of terrorism was more salient than ever, and dominated the top spot of political and security agendas of many countries in the world, bringing into the political debate both the issue of national and translational security.

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