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Activists and the Surveillance State

Activists and the Surveillance State

Aziz Choudry

(2018)

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Abstract

The use of secret police, security agencies and informers to spy on, disrupt and undermine opposition to the dominant political and economic order has a long history. This book reflects on the surveillance, harassment and infiltration that pervades the lives of activists, organisations and movements that are labelled as 'threats to national security'.

Activists and scholars from the UK, South Africa, Canada, the US, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand expose disturbing stories of political policing to question what lies beneath state surveillance.

Problematising the social amnesia that exists within progressive political networks and supposed liberal democracies, Activists and the Surveillance State shows that ultimately, movements can learn from their own repression, developing a critical and complex understanding of the nature of states, capital and democracy today that can inform the struggles of tomorrow.
'This important collection draws critical attention to the harms of state surveillance and police power, and how this power has been challenged and resisted by ordinary citizens. It is a must read for activists, community organisers and scholars alike'
Waqas Tufail, Leeds Beckett University
'An important intervention that moves us beyond assessments of the scale and scope of surveillance and securitisation to reflect on lessons learned from multiple global resistance movements. The contributions in this book prompt us to consider possibilities for more hopeful futures'
Nisha Kapoor, author of 'Deport, Deprive, Extradite: 21st Century State Extremism'
'Activists and the Surveillance State is a wide-ranging exploration of collective organising in response to state and corporate surveillance. The book's rich discussion of what movements have learned, and failed to learn, about how surveillance works makes it a crucial reference for scholars and activists alike'
Arun Kundnani, author of 'The Muslims are Coming'
'By asking us to consider different histories of knowledge production and resistance, this book provides a nuanced and timely intervention in our ongoing reflections on confrontations with state security, and how they can be used for advancing radical political alternatives'
Dr Lina Dencik, Cardiff University
'Activists in social movements and others challenging the prevailing socio-economic and political structures will find in this book invaluable lessons and an effective antidote to the harassment, infiltration and 'dirty tricks' of agencies that uphold the interests of the corporate and political elite'
Salim Vally, University of Johannesburg

Table of Contents

Section Title Page Action Price
Cover Cover
Contents v
Acknowledgements vii
Part I 1
1. Lessons Learnt, Lessons Lost: Pedagogies of Repression, Thoughtcrime, and the Sharp Edge of State Power - Aziz Choudry 3
2. The Surveillance State: A Composition in Four Movements - Radha D'Souza 23
3. Activist Learning and State Dataveillance: Lessons from the UK, Mauritius and South Africa - Jane Duncan 53
Part II 77
4. Coming of Age Under Surveillance: South Asian, Arab and Afghan American Youth and Post-9/11 Activism - Sunaina Maira 79
5. ASIO and the Australia-Timor-Leste Solidarity Movement, 1974-79 - Bob Boughton 97
6. The Plantation-to-Plant-to-Prison Pipeline - David Austin interviewed by Aziz Choudry 117
7. Forgetting National Security in 'Canada': Towards Pedagogies of Resistance - Gary Kinsman 129
8. Prevent as Far-Right Trojan Horse: The Creeping Radicalisation of the UK National Security Complex - Nafeez Ahmed 153
9. Political Policing in the UK: A Personal Perspective - Emily Apple 177
10. Spies Wide Shut: Responses and Resistance to the National Security State in Aotearoa New Zealand - Valerie Morse 197
Part III 215
11. Undercover Research: Academics, Activists and Other Investigative Political Policing - Eveline Lubbers 217
Notes on Contributors 249
Index 253