Table Of ContentCounter-terrorism and the Prospects
of Human Rights
IpekDemirsu
Counter-terrorism
and the Prospects
of Human Rights
Securitizing Difference and Dissent
IpekDemirsu
FacultyofArtsandSocialSciences
SabanciUniversity
Tuzla,Turkey
ISBN978-3-319-50801-6 ISBN978-3-319-50802-3(eBook)
DOI10.1007/978-3-319-50802-3
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P
REFACE
Strikingtherightbalancebetweensecurityandlibertieshasneverbeenan
easytaskforpolicymakers.Particularlyinthecontextofterrorismmarked
bytheperceptionofaubiquitousthreat,theactofbalancingseemstobe
ever more challenging. The purpose of this book is not to downplay the
consequences of terrorist violence, or the heavy toll of innocent lives and
the suffering of loved ones. On the contrary, as an individual witnessing
theincubusthathascomedownuponthecountryIlivein,onewhichwe
incessantlyfailtowakeupfrom,takingmorethan200livesinasingleyear
withdevastatingattacksalmosteverymonth,Iammorethanawareofthe
gravity of brute violence. This book seeks to investigate in a critical light
howwerespondtosuchatrocitiesinademocraticsetting,withoutlosing
the spirit of democracy. In an attempt to counter terrorism, established
liberal democracies have been institutionalizing security measures that
corrode the democratic pillars the society is built upon, muddying the
definitionofthreattoincludenon-violentdisplaysofdifferenceordissent,
bypassingprinciplesofdueprocess;meanwhile,othercountriesstillstrug-
gling to consolidate their democracies follow their footsteps. In the end,
what the majority of the population is left with is more insecurity in the
publicsphereandless guaranteesfor theirliberties.
Duringthewritingofthisbook,thesituationhasgonefrombadtoworst
throughout the world. There have been horrendous attacks in Ankara,
Bagdat, Beirut, Brussels, Dhaka, Istanbul, Nice, Orlando, and Paris. The
realities of the Syrian civil war has demonstrated that we are all intercon-
nected to a magnitude greater than we have previously imagined, as the
horrorsofwarprovedtobenotonlytheconcernoftheSyrianpopulation
v
vi PREFACE
alone,fleeingtheirconflict-torncountries,butalsoours,therelativelymore
‘privileged’partoftheworld,livingwiththebogussenseofsecuritybehind
the walls we have erected. As Europe has remained lethargic in finding a
plausible course of action for the growing wave of refugees reaching its
shores in search of a safe future, usually at the risk of their lives, a con-
comitant upsurge in far-right politics channeled diligently by opportunist
demagogues has twisted the public debate, equating refugees with those
theyhavebeenrunningawayfrom.Itwaspreciselyinthisconjuncturethat
the Brexit vote came as a shock to many, who have underestimated the
risingtideoffar-right,withthemajorityoftheBritishpopulationvotingto
leavetheEuropeanUnion.ThemurderoftheMPJoCox,knownforher
advocacyfortherightsofminoritygroupsandrefugees,byafar-rightzealot
taintedtheprocessleadingtothereferendum.Althoughtheramificationsof
the decision to leave is yet to be seen, British politicians have been on a
number of accounts voicing their discontent with European institutions
previously, inter alia the European Court of Human Rights, mostly in
the context of counter-terrorism for intervening in matters concerning
immigration and deportation of individuals believed to pose a threat to
nationalsecurity.
In the meantime, the EU has endeavored to externalize its challenge
with the arrival of refugees by revitalizing the Readmission Agreement
withTurkey,promisingtoliberalizevisarequirementsforTurkishcitizens
in exchange of sending back those refugees who have arrived in Europe
through Turkey. Packaged as ‘reinvigorating’ the long-inert accession
process, the intensifying exchanges between both sides to find a joint
solution to the ‘refugee crisis’ during a period when the human rights
recordof Turkeyhas been persistently deteriorating,wasobserved witha
skepticaleyebytheerstwhilesupportersofTurkey’sEUmembershipbid
and democratization. The delicate peace process and ceasefire in the
southeast region came to a sudden halt in 2015, drifting back to the
escalation of clashes along with long periods of curfew, thousands of
displaced people, and a rising death toll; practices that have been likened
totheinfamous1990s.Againstthisbackdrop,thepoliticalspacehasbeen
evermoreparalyzed,asoppositionalfiguresareincreasinglybeingsilenced
by terror-related charges.I mustrepeat myselfin stressing thatthe threat
ofterroristattacksisreal.Yet,soistheimpactonourdemocracytheway
in which we choose to respond to acts of violence, how we talk about
important notions such as ‘threat’ or ‘enemy’, how we opt to frame and
defineterror.Thesechoicesnotonlybearimplicationsonsecuritypolicies
PREFACE vii
butalsohowwecometounderstandthepolitywelivein.Thishasindeed
beenthecaseintheaftermathoftheshockingcoupattemptinTurkeyon
the15July,2016,whichcouldhavebeenandevastatingblowtoTurkish
democracy like its antecedents, fortunately failing to succeed. Many have
rejoicedthepreventionofthecoupattemptandthevictoryofdemocracy
withripememoriesofearliermilitarycoupsstillinmind.Thatbeingsaid,
the following extended periods of the state of emergency with tens of
thousandsofmassarrestshaveraisedseriousconcernsaboutthecourseof
democracy in the country. Once again, this dire experience has demon-
strated that the issue of balancing rights and security will be critical in
determiningthe future of thepolitical regime.
It is in this troubled murky environment that I have written this book
painstakingly, hoping that it can shed light on how language plays an
indispensable role in shaping policies, and how such policies ultimately
shape the society we live in. To this end, the book is also a plea for the
indivisibleandinalienablehumanrights,withallitsimperfections,stillthe
mostreliableanchor offreedoms,notonly intermsofEuropeanbureau-
cracy and legal formalities, but also how we deliberate fundamental mat-
terssuchassecurity,howwethinkandtalkaboutthelegitimatescopeof
sovereignty. I believe human rights continues to be the strongest instru-
ment in the international political arena to challenge the vicious cycle of
violence,andtoensureourdemocraciesdonotdegenerateintoasecurity
state. The release of the long-awaited Chilcot report and the standstill of
the ‘refugee deal’ between the EU and Turkey due to the perturbing
human rights records of the latter attest to the power such norms still
exert even in key security matters. All in all, by presenting a detailed
comparative analysis of the UK and Turkey, the former an established
democracy while the latter still struggling in its path to democratization,
both hanging on the margins of the EU, the book offers significant
insightson the intersection ofcounter-terrorism andhumanrights.
There are a number of influential people that have played a role in my
intellectual life and the materialization of this book that I would like to
share my gratitude. One person who has been important in my early
studies is Dr. Adnan Akçay from Middle East Technical University, who
wasthefirstpersontoencouragemeinquestioningestablishedtruthsand
to search for untold histories. Undoubtedly, the person to whom I owe
my deepening interest in and advocacy for human rights is Dr. Andrew
Fagan from the Human Rights Centre at University of Essex, who has
continuedtoextendhissupportineveryphaseofmystudies.Iwouldlike
viii PREFACE
to thank Prof. Dr. Meltem Müftüler-Baç from Sabanci University for her
ceaseless guidance, not only throughout my academic life but also life in
general.Herdiligencehasbeeninspirationalforallherstudents,including
myself.IwouldalsoliketoexpressmygratitudetoProf.RichardJackson
for his hospitality at the University of Otago National Centre for Peace
and Conflict Studies during my research visit, whose insights have been
invaluableforthisresearch.Anotherimportantpersoninthisjourneyhas
been Dr. Bahar Rumelili from Koç University, who has shown me the
strength of this book even before its conception. Moreover, I would like
tothankmyeditorsandmyreviewers fortheirconstructive andencoura-
ginginputsthathavebeenindispensableforthebooktoarriveatitsfinal
version.
Lastly,Iwouldliketothankmydearfamilyandfriends,whohavebeen
there at the best of times and the worst of times; but most of all, I owe
specialthankstomyextraordinaryhusband,myinspiration,Dr.AndreaDi
Biase, whohas been the biggestsupport throughout thisprocess.
Istanbul,December2016 IpekDemirsu
C
ONTENTS
1 Introduction:Counter-terrorism andHuman Rights
Norms in World PoliticsToday 1
2 SovereigntyBetweenSecurityandHumanRightsPrinciples 9
2.1 TheConcept of‘Security’and ItsStudy 9
2.2 SovereignPower and the‘State of Exception’ 19
2.3 InternationalNormsand HumanRights 25
2.4 Terrorismand Counter-terrorism 30
Notes 38
3 The Language of LawmakingandItsEffects: Mutual
Constitution of DiscourseandPolicy 41
3.1 Discourseand the LanguageofSecurity 42
3.2 FrameAnalysisand Policy Frames 46
3.3 Triangulationand Comparative PolicyAnalysis 50
3.4 TheCases:Turkey and theUK 53
3.5 Validityand Reliability 55
3.6 AdjoiningTheory andMethodology 56
Notes 60
ix
x CONTENTS
PartI The Evolution ofCounter-terrorism Policies vis-a-vis
HumanRight Obligations
4 International HumanRights andCounter-terrorism
in the Post-9/11World Politics 63
5 (In)security in the Heartland ofLiberal Democracy:
AnAccountofCounter-terrorismLawsandHumanRights
in the UK 69
5.1 HumanRightsLegislation in theUK 70
5.2 Counter-terrorism Legislationin the Post-9/11Era 74
5.3 Counter-terrorism Measuresinthe Aftermathof7/7
LondonBombings 82
5.4 NewProvisions, OldStrategies:Accounting forLost
Liberties 89
5.5 Conclusion 92
Notes 97
6 Dark Past, TurbulentFuture:The Changing Course
of SecurityPolicies andthe Statusof Human
Rights inTurkey 99
6.1 HumanRightsin Turkeyand the EU-AccessionProcess 100
6.2 TheChanging Role ofthe Militaryin
TurkishPolitics 107
6.3 TheCourseof Counter-terrorism in theTurkish Legal
System 113
6.4 Conclusion 123
Notes 128
7 The Direction of SecurityPolicies inthe UK andTurkey:
Different Contexts,ConvergentPractices 131
