Andrew Whiting | Royal Holloway, University of London (original) (raw)

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Papers by Andrew Whiting

Sociology, 2022

The Prevent Duty mandates that public authorities must work to prevent people from being drawn in... more The Prevent Duty mandates that public authorities must work to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. In this paper we review how 158 UK HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) have responded to this new duty by examining their public facing webpages and Prevent policy documentation. In doing this we draw upon de Certeau's notions of the everyday to highlight how such initiatives are presented publicly to viewing audiences, and how messages seep into and deepen security measures within UK Higher Education. In reviewing the performative element of Prevent, specifically how information is displayed, we find that the majority of UK HEIs have approached their new roles through the prism of 'compliance' and/or 'safeguarding'. The paper argues presentations of safeguarding, reassurance and reluctance offer a telling insight into how the Duty has been adopted in HEIs everyday practice.

British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2021

Drawing upon 157 responses to Freedom of Information Requests sent to Higher Education Institutio... more Drawing upon 157 responses to Freedom of Information Requests sent to Higher Education Institutions across England, Scotland and Wales, this article explores how the Prevent Duty has been enacted within UK higher education. The article shows how the duty has seen considerable repositioning and restructuring across the sector, conflated counterterrorism with safeguarding and introduced further bureaucracy. The article also explores the low number of Channel referrals, the justifications provided for these and the several instances in which institutions refused to disclose this information. We argue that these disproportionate developments have brought harmful depoliticising effects while also enhancing the mechanisms of surveillance and governance. Furthermore, we argue that our findings demonstrate the value in Freedom of Information Requests as a means of approach and suggest a continued need for critical researchers to explore the specific functioning of the duty to complement the broader critiques that are levelled at the policy as a whole.

"A Disproportionate Response" is the closing report from the Desecuritising Higher Education proj... more "A Disproportionate Response" is the closing report from the Desecuritising Higher Education project that ran at BCU between 2018-2021. The report details the wide-ranging impact the Duty has had across the sector and the uncertainty both staff and students have about its place in higher education.

Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2018

The UK Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015) calls for a partnership between the government, ... more The UK Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015) calls for a partnership between the government, individuals, organisations and communities to prevent the radicalisation of people and to prevent their participation in terrorist and illegal activities. As part of this strategy universities have a statutory duty placed upon them to remain vigilant to signs of extremism. Based upon 20 interviews with UK university lecturers the paper examines reactions of the academic community to this governmental mandate. Key to our understanding is the deputisation of lecturers into a security regime and how they perform the duty of identifying and monitoring extremism. Equally, forms of lecturer resistance are evident in how lecturers understand their new roles, and for universities themselves a conservative approach to risk may be gaining traction. We argue there is confusion around the duty based upon its ambiguity and that this has instructed conservative and defensive reactions that have subsequently produced concern amongst lecturers and a debilitating effect within UK universities.

This article explores original empirical findings from a research project investigating represent... more This article explores original empirical findings from a research project investigating representations of cyberterrorism in the international news media. Drawing on a sample of 535 items published by 31 outlets between 2008 and 2013, it focuses on four questions. First, how individuated a presence is cyberterrorism given within news media coverage? Second, how significant a threat is cyberterrorism deemed to pose? Third, how is the identity of ‘cyberterrorists’ portrayed? And, fourth, who or what is identified as the referent – that which is threatened – within this coverage? The article argues that constructions of specificity, status and scale play an important, yet hitherto under-explored, role within articulations of concern about the threat posed by cyberterrorism. Moreover, unpacking news coverage of cyberterrorism in this way leads to a more variegated picture than that of the vague and hyperbolic media discourse often identified by critics. The article concludes by pointing to several promising future research agendas to build on this work.

This article explores constructions of cyberterrorism within the global news media between 2008 a... more This article explores constructions of cyberterrorism within the global news media between 2008 and 2013. It begins by arguing that the preoccupation with questions of definition, threat and response in academic literature on cyberterrorism is problematic, for two reasons. First, because it neglects the constitutivity of representations of cyberterrorism in the news media and beyond; and, second, because it prioritises policy-relevant research. To address this, the article then provides a discursive analysis of original empirical research into 31 news media outlets across the world. Although there is genuine heterogeneity in representations of cyberterrorism therein, we argue that constructions of this threat rely heavily on two strategies. First, appeals to authoritative or expert ‘witnesses’ and their institutional or epistemic credibility. And, second, generic or historical analogies, which help shape understandings of the likelihood and consequences of cyberterrorist attack. These discursive strategies are particularly important, we argue, given the lack of readily available empirical examples of the ‘reality’ of cyberterrorism.

This article examines the way in which the English language international news media has construc... more This article examines the way in which the English language international news media has constructed the threat of cyberterrorism. Analysing 535 news items published by 31 different media outlets across 7 countries between 2008 and 2013, we show that this coverage is uneven in terms of its geographical and temporal distribution and that its tone is predominantly apprehensive. This article argues that, regardless of the 'reality' of the cyberterrorism threat, this coverage is important because it helps to constitute cyberterrorism as a security risk. Paying attention to this constitutive role of the news media, we suggest, opens up a fresh set of research questions in this context and a different theoretical approach to the study of cyberterrorism.

This report explores news content produced by these 31 outlets between 1 January 2008 and 8 June ... more This report explores news content produced by these 31 outlets between 1 January 2008 and 8 June 2013. These dates were selected because they cover a significant period of time (over five years), during which a number of key events occurred including: the cyberattacks on Georgia, the Stuxnet revelations, and the release of the UK’s Cyber Security Strategy. Items were added to our corpus using a keyword search for the terms “cyber terrorism”, “cyberterrorism” and “cyber terror”, with a total of 535 items identified for coding and analysis. Please contact the research team with any further enquiries on the project’s methods and findings.

This report contains findings from the Cyberterrorism Project’s symposium on terrorists’ use of t... more This report contains findings from the Cyberterrorism Project’s symposium on terrorists’ use of the Internet. The event was hosted by Swansea University, UK, on 5- 6 June 2014. 43 delegates attended the symposium, including researchers from a number of UK universities, as well as institutions in the Republic of Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Canada and Australia. Other attendees included
representatives from the Home Office, South Wales Police and the Scottish Organised Crime and Counterterrorism Police Unit.
This report provides summaries of each of the papers presented at the symposium, drawing out the key themes which emerged.

Chapters by Andrew Whiting

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Terrorism , 2020

This chapter focuses on understandings and debates around cyberterrorism as well as the effect pa... more This chapter focuses on understandings and debates around cyberterrorism as well as the effect particular representations of this phenomenon have upon assessing its threat. The chapter begins by introducing various understandings of cyberterrorism and differentiates between narrow and broad conceptions as well as effects and intent based definitions. Moving onto consider the threat of cyberterrorism the chapter identifies an ongoing debate between 'concerned' and 'sceptical' voices as well as those that contest whether cyberterrorism has ever taken place. The chapter then introduces a range of broadly constructivist studies which question the orthodox approach to cyberterrorism as an ontological reality and highlight the importance of media representations of this threat. To illustrate this, the chapter concludes by highlighting findings from a recent study of global news media coverage. It shows that this media is frequently apprehensive in tone, despite the existence of diverse understandings of cyberterrorism and cybersecurity.

Freedom of Information and Social Science Research Design, 2020

This chapter considers Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a viable tool for academic research. ... more This chapter considers Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a viable tool for academic research. To date, journalist, campaigners or concerned consumers have been to the forefront in using FOIs to gain information on issues as diverse as politician's expenses, the cost of policing a royal event or the levels of food hygiene in restaurants. Yet this line of enquiry appears to be infrequently used by academic researchers. The chapter concentrates on the UK and will offer 5 areas for consideration. Firstly, we consider the value of FOIs as a research tool. Secondly, we reflect upon some of the limitations to using FOIs in research. Thirdly, we locate the FOIA within a broader process of modernising digital information and highlight some of the challenges that can present for researchers via this trend. Fourthly, we review effective use of FOI in research. Finally, we offer some observations from our own nascent research project that is using FOIs as a key methodological approach. The chapter concludes by stressing the usefulness of the FOIA for researchers to produce democratising and politically impactful research. The chapter's aim is to highlight the practicalities of applying this method of enquiry and to further its contribution to academic research.

Sociology, 2022

The Prevent Duty mandates that public authorities must work to prevent people from being drawn in... more The Prevent Duty mandates that public authorities must work to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism. In this paper we review how 158 UK HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) have responded to this new duty by examining their public facing webpages and Prevent policy documentation. In doing this we draw upon de Certeau's notions of the everyday to highlight how such initiatives are presented publicly to viewing audiences, and how messages seep into and deepen security measures within UK Higher Education. In reviewing the performative element of Prevent, specifically how information is displayed, we find that the majority of UK HEIs have approached their new roles through the prism of 'compliance' and/or 'safeguarding'. The paper argues presentations of safeguarding, reassurance and reluctance offer a telling insight into how the Duty has been adopted in HEIs everyday practice.

British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 2021

Drawing upon 157 responses to Freedom of Information Requests sent to Higher Education Institutio... more Drawing upon 157 responses to Freedom of Information Requests sent to Higher Education Institutions across England, Scotland and Wales, this article explores how the Prevent Duty has been enacted within UK higher education. The article shows how the duty has seen considerable repositioning and restructuring across the sector, conflated counterterrorism with safeguarding and introduced further bureaucracy. The article also explores the low number of Channel referrals, the justifications provided for these and the several instances in which institutions refused to disclose this information. We argue that these disproportionate developments have brought harmful depoliticising effects while also enhancing the mechanisms of surveillance and governance. Furthermore, we argue that our findings demonstrate the value in Freedom of Information Requests as a means of approach and suggest a continued need for critical researchers to explore the specific functioning of the duty to complement the broader critiques that are levelled at the policy as a whole.

"A Disproportionate Response" is the closing report from the Desecuritising Higher Education proj... more "A Disproportionate Response" is the closing report from the Desecuritising Higher Education project that ran at BCU between 2018-2021. The report details the wide-ranging impact the Duty has had across the sector and the uncertainty both staff and students have about its place in higher education.

Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2018

The UK Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015) calls for a partnership between the government, ... more The UK Counter Terrorism and Security Act (2015) calls for a partnership between the government, individuals, organisations and communities to prevent the radicalisation of people and to prevent their participation in terrorist and illegal activities. As part of this strategy universities have a statutory duty placed upon them to remain vigilant to signs of extremism. Based upon 20 interviews with UK university lecturers the paper examines reactions of the academic community to this governmental mandate. Key to our understanding is the deputisation of lecturers into a security regime and how they perform the duty of identifying and monitoring extremism. Equally, forms of lecturer resistance are evident in how lecturers understand their new roles, and for universities themselves a conservative approach to risk may be gaining traction. We argue there is confusion around the duty based upon its ambiguity and that this has instructed conservative and defensive reactions that have subsequently produced concern amongst lecturers and a debilitating effect within UK universities.

This article explores original empirical findings from a research project investigating represent... more This article explores original empirical findings from a research project investigating representations of cyberterrorism in the international news media. Drawing on a sample of 535 items published by 31 outlets between 2008 and 2013, it focuses on four questions. First, how individuated a presence is cyberterrorism given within news media coverage? Second, how significant a threat is cyberterrorism deemed to pose? Third, how is the identity of ‘cyberterrorists’ portrayed? And, fourth, who or what is identified as the referent – that which is threatened – within this coverage? The article argues that constructions of specificity, status and scale play an important, yet hitherto under-explored, role within articulations of concern about the threat posed by cyberterrorism. Moreover, unpacking news coverage of cyberterrorism in this way leads to a more variegated picture than that of the vague and hyperbolic media discourse often identified by critics. The article concludes by pointing to several promising future research agendas to build on this work.

This article explores constructions of cyberterrorism within the global news media between 2008 a... more This article explores constructions of cyberterrorism within the global news media between 2008 and 2013. It begins by arguing that the preoccupation with questions of definition, threat and response in academic literature on cyberterrorism is problematic, for two reasons. First, because it neglects the constitutivity of representations of cyberterrorism in the news media and beyond; and, second, because it prioritises policy-relevant research. To address this, the article then provides a discursive analysis of original empirical research into 31 news media outlets across the world. Although there is genuine heterogeneity in representations of cyberterrorism therein, we argue that constructions of this threat rely heavily on two strategies. First, appeals to authoritative or expert ‘witnesses’ and their institutional or epistemic credibility. And, second, generic or historical analogies, which help shape understandings of the likelihood and consequences of cyberterrorist attack. These discursive strategies are particularly important, we argue, given the lack of readily available empirical examples of the ‘reality’ of cyberterrorism.

This article examines the way in which the English language international news media has construc... more This article examines the way in which the English language international news media has constructed the threat of cyberterrorism. Analysing 535 news items published by 31 different media outlets across 7 countries between 2008 and 2013, we show that this coverage is uneven in terms of its geographical and temporal distribution and that its tone is predominantly apprehensive. This article argues that, regardless of the 'reality' of the cyberterrorism threat, this coverage is important because it helps to constitute cyberterrorism as a security risk. Paying attention to this constitutive role of the news media, we suggest, opens up a fresh set of research questions in this context and a different theoretical approach to the study of cyberterrorism.

This report explores news content produced by these 31 outlets between 1 January 2008 and 8 June ... more This report explores news content produced by these 31 outlets between 1 January 2008 and 8 June 2013. These dates were selected because they cover a significant period of time (over five years), during which a number of key events occurred including: the cyberattacks on Georgia, the Stuxnet revelations, and the release of the UK’s Cyber Security Strategy. Items were added to our corpus using a keyword search for the terms “cyber terrorism”, “cyberterrorism” and “cyber terror”, with a total of 535 items identified for coding and analysis. Please contact the research team with any further enquiries on the project’s methods and findings.

This report contains findings from the Cyberterrorism Project’s symposium on terrorists’ use of t... more This report contains findings from the Cyberterrorism Project’s symposium on terrorists’ use of the Internet. The event was hosted by Swansea University, UK, on 5- 6 June 2014. 43 delegates attended the symposium, including researchers from a number of UK universities, as well as institutions in the Republic of Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Turkey, Canada and Australia. Other attendees included
representatives from the Home Office, South Wales Police and the Scottish Organised Crime and Counterterrorism Police Unit.
This report provides summaries of each of the papers presented at the symposium, drawing out the key themes which emerged.

The Oxford Handbook of the History of Terrorism , 2020

This chapter focuses on understandings and debates around cyberterrorism as well as the effect pa... more This chapter focuses on understandings and debates around cyberterrorism as well as the effect particular representations of this phenomenon have upon assessing its threat. The chapter begins by introducing various understandings of cyberterrorism and differentiates between narrow and broad conceptions as well as effects and intent based definitions. Moving onto consider the threat of cyberterrorism the chapter identifies an ongoing debate between 'concerned' and 'sceptical' voices as well as those that contest whether cyberterrorism has ever taken place. The chapter then introduces a range of broadly constructivist studies which question the orthodox approach to cyberterrorism as an ontological reality and highlight the importance of media representations of this threat. To illustrate this, the chapter concludes by highlighting findings from a recent study of global news media coverage. It shows that this media is frequently apprehensive in tone, despite the existence of diverse understandings of cyberterrorism and cybersecurity.

Freedom of Information and Social Science Research Design, 2020

This chapter considers Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a viable tool for academic research. ... more This chapter considers Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as a viable tool for academic research. To date, journalist, campaigners or concerned consumers have been to the forefront in using FOIs to gain information on issues as diverse as politician's expenses, the cost of policing a royal event or the levels of food hygiene in restaurants. Yet this line of enquiry appears to be infrequently used by academic researchers. The chapter concentrates on the UK and will offer 5 areas for consideration. Firstly, we consider the value of FOIs as a research tool. Secondly, we reflect upon some of the limitations to using FOIs in research. Thirdly, we locate the FOIA within a broader process of modernising digital information and highlight some of the challenges that can present for researchers via this trend. Fourthly, we review effective use of FOI in research. Finally, we offer some observations from our own nascent research project that is using FOIs as a key methodological approach. The chapter concludes by stressing the usefulness of the FOIA for researchers to produce democratising and politically impactful research. The chapter's aim is to highlight the practicalities of applying this method of enquiry and to further its contribution to academic research.