Security culture is a set of practices used by activists, notably contemporary anarchists, to avoid, or mitigate the effects of, police

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

and harassment and state control.

Overview

Security culture recognizes the possibility that anarchist spaces and movements are surveilled and/or infiltrated by

informants An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

or undercover operatives. Security culture has three components: determining when and how surveillance is occurring, protecting anarchist communities if infiltration occurs, and responding to security breaches. Its origins are uncertain, though some anarchists identify its genesis in the

new social movements The term new social movements (NSMs) is a theory of social movements that attempts to explain the plethora of new movements that have come up in various Western world, western societies roughly since the mid-1960s (i.e. in a post-industrial economy ...

of the 1960s, which were targeted by the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

COINTELPRO COINTELPRO (a syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program) was a series of covert and illegal projects conducted between 1956 and 1971 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltr ...

projects. The sociologist Christine M. Robinson has identified security culture as a response to the labelling of anarchists as terrorists in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The geographer Nathan L. Clough describes security culture as "a technique for cultivating a new affective structure". The political scientist Sean Parson offers the following definition: "'security culture' ... includes such rules as not disclosing full names, one's activist history, or anything else that could be used to identify oneself or others to authorities. The goal of security culture is to weaken the influence of infiltrators and 'snitches,' which allows groups to more readily engage in illegal acts with less concern for arrest." The media scholar Laura Portwood-Stacer defines security culture as "the norms of privacy and information control developed by anarchists in response to regular infiltration of their groups and surveillance by law enforcement personnel." Security culture does not involve abandoning confrontational political tactics, but rather eschews boasting about such deeds on the basis that doing so facilitates the targeting and conviction of anarchist activists. Advocates of security culture aim to make its practices instinctive, automatic or unconscious. Participants in anarchist movements see security culture as vital to their ability to function, especially in the context of the War on Terror. Portwood-Stacer observes that security culture impacts upon research on anarchist

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

s and that, while subcultures are often resistant to observation, "the stakes are often much higher for anarchist activists, because they are a frequent target of state surveillance and repression."

Features

Security culture regulates what topics can be discussed, in what context, and among whom. It prohibits speaking to law enforcement, and certain media and locations are identified as security risks; the Internet, telephone and mail, individuals' homes and vehicles, and community meeting places are assumed to contain

covert listening device A covert listening device, more commonly known as a bug or a wire, is usually a combination of a miniature radio transmitter with a microphone. The use of bugs, called bugging, or wiretapping is a common technique in surveillance, espionage and ...

s. Security culture prohibits or discourages discussing involvement in illegal or covert activities. Three exceptions, however, are drawn: discussing plans with others involved, discussing criminal activities for which one has been convicted, and discussing past actions anonymously in

zine A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is, as noted on Merriam-Webster’s official website, a magazine that is a “noncommercial often homemade or online publication usually devoted to specialized and often unconventional subject ...

s or with trusted media are permitted. Robinson identifies the

black bloc A black bloc (sometimes black block) is a tactic used by protesters who wear black clothing, ski masks, scarves, sunglasses, motorcycle helmets with padding or other face-concealing and face-protecting items.

tactic, in which anarchists cover their faces and wear black clothing, as a component of security culture. Other practices include the use of

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s and " verting the gaze to inspect others' corporeality". Breaches of security culture may be met by avoiding, isolating or shunning those responsible.

2008 Republican National Convention

In his discussion of security culture during the protests around the

2008 Republican National Convention The 2008 Republican National Convention took place at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota, from September 1, through September 4, 2008. The first day of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party's convention fell on Labo ...

(RNC), Clough notes that "fear of surveillance and infiltration" impeded trust among activists and led to energy being directed toward counter-measures. He also suggests that security culture practices may cause newer participants in movements to feel less welcome or less trusted, and therefore less likely to commit to causes, and, in the context of the 2008 RNC, prevented those who did not conform to anarchist norms from assuming prominent positions within the RNC Welcoming Committee. Assessing the role of security culture in the anti-RNC mobilisation, which was infiltrated by four police operatives, Clough finds that had "a mixed record", succeeding in frustrating shorter-term infiltrators operating at the movement's peripheries, but failing to prevent longer-term infiltrators from gaining others' trust.

Notes

References

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External links