Project background
The events of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent attacks in Bali, Madrid, and London have elicited a range of counter-terrorism responses from governments around the world, often under the overarching slogan of the “War on Terror”.
Law has been central to the responses of States to these particular attacks and to the more broadly perceived threat of terrorism. Governments have sought to legitimate their actions by reference to existing categories of law and powers under national and international law and have in some cases adopted interpretations that are highly contested. They have also supplemented existing law to further empower them and their agencies and partners.
Australia has actively responded to terrorist attacks, supporting military action against those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities, as well as by adopting new international treaties and other standards that require States to address terror and to facilitate their cooperation in doing so.
At the national level, various Australian governments have, with a sense of urgency, introduced many specific anti-terrorism measures, including wide-ranging new laws, which are intended to provide governments with the capacity to wage the battle against terror effectively and to reassure a population concerned about the possibility of further attacks on Australians anywhere and targets in Australia.
Debates in Australia to date about the future of terrorism law have largely focused on national responses. Some attention has also been directed to law-making in other areas such as immigration. Legal commentators are drawn into debates over the constitutionality of such legislative responses, with liberalism, human rights, criminal justice norms and particularly the rule of law providing the primary basis for the mounting legal critique.
However, the substantial bodies of research and conceptual literature that have developed around terrorism remain remote form the public and policy debates and also form each other.
We aim to bring many of the hitherto separate bodies of research and literature together into a more comprehensive, interdisciplinary analysis of legal responses to terrorism and their political and social (including psychological) contexts. Our idea is to inquire into Australian and related international and regional developments in the “War on Terror”.