Activists and the Surveillance State: Learning from Repression

273 Pages·2019·2.721 MB·English

by  Aziz Choudry

Activists and the Surveillance State

Activists and the
Surveillance State
Learning from Repression
Edited by Aziz Choudry
and
Between the Lines
First published 2019 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Aziz Choudry 2019
The right of the individual contributors to be identified as the authors of this work has
been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 0 7453 3781 4 Hardback
ISBN 978 0 7453 3780 7 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 7868 0372 6 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0374 0 Kindle eBook
ISBN 978 1 7868 0373 3 EPUB eBook
Published in Canada 2019 by Between the Lines
401 Richmond Street West, Studio 281, Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3A8
www.btlbooks.com
Cataloguing in Publication information available from Library and Archives Canada
ISBN 978 1 77113 435 4 Paperback
ISBN 978 1 77113 437 8 PDF eBook
ISBN 978 1 77113 436 1 EPUB eBook
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and
sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to
conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.
Typeset by Swales & Willis
Simultaneously printed in the United Kingdom and United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Part I
1 Lessons learnt, lessons lost: Pedagogies of repression,
thoughtcrime, and the sharp edge of state power 3
Aziz Choudry
2 The surveillance state: A composition in four movements 23
Radha D’Souza
3 Activist learning and state dataveillance: Lessons from the UK,
Mauritius and South Africa 53
Jane Duncan
Part II
4 Coming of age under surveillance: South Asian, Arab and
Afghan American youth and post-9/11 activism 79
Sunaina Maira
5 ASIO and the Australia–Timor-Leste solidarity movement,
1974–79 97
Bob Boughton
6 The plantation-to-plant-to-prison pipeline 117
David Austin interviewed by Aziz Choudry
7 Forgetting national security in ‘Canada’: Towards pedagogies
of resistance 129
Gary Kinsman
contents
8 Prevent as far-right Trojan horse: The creeping radicalisation
of the UK national security complex 153
Nafeez Ahmed
9 Political policing in the UK: A personal perspective 177
Emily Apple
10 Spies wide shut: Responses and resistance to the national
security state in Aotearoa New Zealand 197
Valerie Morse
Part III
11 Undercover research: Academics, activists and others
investigate political policing 217
Eveline Lubbers
Notes on contributors 249
Index 253
vi
Acknowledgements
Drawing from the knowledge of activists and critically engaged
academics, this book asks what people did, didn’t, could and should
learn about the power of states and capital from activists/movements
viewed as threats to national security and targeted by state (and state-
corporate) security operations, harassment, surveillance, infiltration
and disruption, highlighting lessons learned and missed opportunities.
The idea for a book of this kind has been percolating for many years –
in countless conversations, discussions and debates with a wide range
of people, stretched across cities, countries and continents as well as in
reflections on my own and others’ experiences. I am blessed with a great
network of friends and comrades with whom to think and act.
I deeply appreciate the contributions of all of the chapter authors.
This is not an easy topic to write about, not least for those whose lives
have been, or are directly impacted by state surveillance, harassment,
infiltration and worse. But this book is also a testament to the historical
and ongoing resistance of ordinary people to the national security state.
Many thanks to David Shulman at Pluto Press for his interest in,
and enthusiasm for this book project, and to the rest of the Pluto team
for their production and design work. My heartfelt gratitude also goes
to Désirée Rochat whose careful preparation of the manuscript for
publication embodied editorial assistance par excellence. Sincere thanks
to Jeanne Brady for her careful and efficient copy-editing, and Adam
Bell at Swales and Willis for his help in the production of this book.
I also acknowledge support from my Canada Research Chair in Social
Movement Learning and Knowledge Production.
While working on this book, my friend, colleague and comrade
Abby Lippman passed away. We had had many conversations, over
several years, over cups of tea at her kitchen table, and on marches and
demonstrations on the streets of Montreal, about the issues, struggles,
vii
acknowslaerdagements
politics and histories in this book. Having shared the proposal with her,
I had imagined that she would read the final product, hopefully with
interest, with her usual sharp eye and mind, dry sense of humour and
generosity of spirit. This book is dedicated to Abby.
All royalties for this book will be donated to The Right2Know
Campaign (South Africa). Website: https://www.r2k.org.za
viii
part i