The violence of suspicion within a ‘war on terror’ context

Patel, T

Abstract

In reporting on work in progress, this paper considers the nature and power of everyday violence within the ‘War on Terror’ context. In particular, the impact of suspicion and citizen surveillance on those marked as ‘hyper-visible’, i.e. those seen as South Asian or Arabic and Muslim, is considered as a form of violence that is sanctioned by the state and its allied security service agents. It is argued that members of this ethnic group are subjected to emotional and psychological harm as a result of being marked out as a ‘problem group’ or as a member of a ‘suspect community’, which involves deviant labels, such as anti-British, enemy within, illegal immigrant, sympathiser of terrorist activity, radicalised student, etc., being applied on a regular basis, despite any actual evidence of criminal behaviour on their part.

Citation

Patel, T. (2012, January). The violence of suspicion within a ‘war on terror’ context. Presented at White Rose Violence Symposium, University of Sheffield

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: White Rose Violence Symposium
• Conference Location: University of Sheffield
• Start Date: Jan 26, 2012
• Deposit Date: Feb 20, 2012
• Additional Information: Event Type : Conference