From sleepwalking into surveillance societies to drifting into permanent securitisation: Mass surveillance, security and human rights in Europe

Abstract

The migration crisis, terroristic acts on EU soil and other so-called generators of risks have been accompanied by an increasing trend towards securitisation in many European countries. After decades during which traditional national security threats only indirectly affected most member states of the EU, many European governments have now turned towards policies that prioritise the safeguarding of national security at the expense of human rights and civil liberties. In countries that have been directly affected by Islamic terrorism, such as France and Belgium, extreme anti-terrorism legislation has been implemented and civil liberties have been curtailed. The threat of terrorism and the migration crisis has been accompanied by a legitimisation for the increased use of government surveillance measures for border control and counterterrorism actions. The article examines the linkages between securitisation and surveillance in the European context, and studies the consequences of the increasing trend of government surveillance on human rights. The article argues that looking at the implementation of mass surveillance measures in Europe illustrates that the continent is drifting into a permanent state of securitisation that threatens not only certain human rights, but the very foundation of democratic societies by permanently altering statesociety relations. It also discusses possible ways to counter these worrying trends.

Key words: securitisation; mass surveillance; Europe; human rights; democracy