The Crisis of Britain's Surveillance State

Book excerpt: Great Britain is in a great crisis, one that gets worse with every attempt to patch things up. The global spread of technology and international links enables a rapid rise in the traffic of dangerous ideas, dangerous materials and dangerous people. An international journalist ties together the common strands that create the fuse for unquenched violence in Great Britain, culminating in a many-faceted crisis for the British state. In response to the uprisings and civil wars sweeping the globe, concerns about possible cyber attacks (State-sponsored or otherwise) on State computers, have been amplified in the media, sparking a debate as to the appropriate course of action. Now citizens understand that their own privacy has been discarded in the name of international security. Cyberspace has become the decisive arena of modern information warfare. The overwhelming picture of intrusion into people's personal lives has caused a breakdown in trust between the citizens and the State, and the State and its Allies. Five Eyes, TEMPORA, PRISM, ECHELON and the politics of the Intelligence War have shaken the public perception that their governments respect civil rights and liberties. Meanwhile the British welfare state faces threats from many quarters. The burning public frustration amounts to a national security crisis, which London addresses primarily through endless new legislation, policies, and strategies statements that create confusion rather than cohesion. Short-term fixes are not enough. Real leadership and real solutions are urgently needed.