A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts

In the post 9/11 era much emphasis has been placed on the ‘new world’ in which the threat of terrorism is as certain as it is ever present. Public communication campaigns, increasing security measures and the ongoing ‘war on terror’ serve as salient reminders that terrorism has come to stay. Public...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Aly, Anne
Other Authors: Samuel Justin Sinclair
Format: Book Chapter
Published: Oxford University Press 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35704
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author Aly, Anne
author2 Samuel Justin Sinclair
author_facet Samuel Justin Sinclair
Aly, Anne
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description In the post 9/11 era much emphasis has been placed on the ‘new world’ in which the threat of terrorism is as certain as it is ever present. Public communication campaigns, increasing security measures and the ongoing ‘war on terror’ serve as salient reminders that terrorism has come to stay. Public fears of terrorism are fickle and easily influenced by terrorist events, media coverage of terrorism and political rhetoric. Yet these fears are much more complex than the fear of an unknown but impending doom. This Chapter explores the complexity of fears of terrorism through an examination of Australian responses to terrorism. Drawing on research into how Australians construct media and political images of terrorism, this Chapter argues that the fear of terrorism is more closely associated with the political and social responses to terrorism than to the threat of a terrorist attack per se. In an increasingly securitised culture, the fear of terrorism manifests in psychological responses that include an intensified quest for meaning; heightened patriotism nationalism; the suppression of dissent; and the acceptance of measures that would otherwise be considered extreme. Such responses elicit fear and contribute to the post 9/11 state of insecurity.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-357042023-02-13T08:01:34Z A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts Aly, Anne Samuel Justin Sinclair Daniel Antonius terrorism Fear public perception Australia In the post 9/11 era much emphasis has been placed on the ‘new world’ in which the threat of terrorism is as certain as it is ever present. Public communication campaigns, increasing security measures and the ongoing ‘war on terror’ serve as salient reminders that terrorism has come to stay. Public fears of terrorism are fickle and easily influenced by terrorist events, media coverage of terrorism and political rhetoric. Yet these fears are much more complex than the fear of an unknown but impending doom. This Chapter explores the complexity of fears of terrorism through an examination of Australian responses to terrorism. Drawing on research into how Australians construct media and political images of terrorism, this Chapter argues that the fear of terrorism is more closely associated with the political and social responses to terrorism than to the threat of a terrorist attack per se. In an increasingly securitised culture, the fear of terrorism manifests in psychological responses that include an intensified quest for meaning; heightened patriotism nationalism; the suppression of dissent; and the acceptance of measures that would otherwise be considered extreme. Such responses elicit fear and contribute to the post 9/11 state of insecurity. 2013 Book Chapter http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35704 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199925926.003.0009 Oxford University Press restricted
spellingShingle terrorism
Fear
public perception
Australia
Aly, Anne
A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title_full A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title_fullStr A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title_full_unstemmed A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title_short A New Normal? Australian Responses to Terrorism and Their Impacts
title_sort new normal? australian responses to terrorism and their impacts
topic terrorism
Fear
public perception
Australia
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/35704