Surveillance and Democracy in Europe

Description

Many contemporary surveillance practices take place in information infrastructures which are from the public domain. Although they have far reaching consequences for both citizens and their rights, they are not always subject to regulatory demands and oversight. This being said, democratic fora where citizens and institutions may question such practices cannot be mobilised without widespread awareness of the dangers and consequences of surveillance practices and who is responsible for them. Through an analysis of surveillance controversies across Europe, this book not only examines the troublesome relationship between surveillance and democracy; but also highlights the vested interests which maintain the status quo. Using a participatory theory lens, Surveillance and Democracy in Europe reveals the historical, social, political and legal antecedents of the current state of affairs. Arguing that participation is a sensitising concept which enables a wide array of surveillance practices and processes to be interrogated, this insightful volume will appeal to students and researchers interested in fields such as public administration and policy, political studies, organisational behaviour and surveillance and privacy. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations Acknowledgments List of contributors Abbreviations 1. Surveillance and democracy: Sympathies and antagonisms Participation and surveillance: a contemporary analysis The participatory lens Research design and method Surveillance, participation and controversies An exercise in collective research and multiple authorship Structure of the book Notes 2. Surveillance theory meets participatory theory Surveillance studies and participation Participatory surveillant relations? Surveillant participatory relations? Participation in practice The institutional structure and legislative framework Contrasting participatory mechanisms Engaging citizens Conclusion Notes 3. The cases: ANPR, credit scoring and Neighbourhood Watch Automatic Number Plate Recognition Credit scoring Neighbourhood Watch Conclusion Notes 4. Search and indignify: Automatic Number Plate Recognition in Europe ANPR and formal institutions of governance The varying powers of data protection authorities and privacy harms Tracking lawful protestors Participating in ANPR: Prising open the institutions Conclusion Notes 5. Blacklists and black holes: Credit scoring in Europe Credit scoring and formal institutions of governance National governance: opaque institutions and administrative harm Austria, Hungary and Italy: snitches, glitches and the inland revenue Norway and the UK: informed citizens or indebted financial consumers? Participating in credit scoring: from blacklists to credit blocks Adapting to credit scoring: a consumer account Conclusion: towards a rights-bearing financial subject? Notes 6. Peers and prejudice: Neighbourhood Watch in Europe Neighbourhood Watch and formal institutions of governance Neighbourhood Watch and community tensions in Austria, Germany and Spain Stigmatisation and re-stigmatisation Mis-identification and stigmatisation Neighbourhood Watch and the normalisation of surveillance in the UK Participating in Neighbourhood Watch: contrasting forms of engagement Conclusion Notes 7. Surveillance and democracy: Towards a new analytical language Viewing the cases through a participatory theory lens: controversy, transparency and co-production Conclusion The participatory lens and surveillance studies Data sources References Index