State violence

Last updated

State violence is the use of force, intimidation, or oppression by a government its citizens. State violence can happen through law enforcement or military force, as well as through other branches of government and bureaucracy. [1] [2] State violence is often justified under the pretense of maintaining law and order. State violence can include prolonged conditions imposed on individuals that are upheld, unaddressed, or furthered by the state.

Contents

Examples

State surveillance

Government surveillance is a tool used by government agencies to protect citizens from potential attacks from terrorists, extremists, or dissidents. Surveillance methods can include monitoring phone calls, video surveillance, or tracking internet usage. Although surveillance was designed to protect national security, it has the potential to perpetuate state violence. [3]

While surveilling as an action is not inherently violent, it can encroach upon citizens' civil liberties and right to privacy.

United States

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush signed the Patriot Act; this Act allowed for an expansion of surveillance by the government and law enforcement. In 2008, U.S. Congress passed the FISA Amendment Act that gave government agencies, such as the NSA, unfettered access to private communications of foreigners. [4] Section 702 of the FISA Amendment Act allows for government agencies to collect information from private companies like AT&T, Google, and Facebook to target non- U.S. citizens. In some instances, this permission includes communications between a non-citizen and a U.S. citizen. [5] The FBI has been known to use these databases to search for information on U.S. citizens in a process called “backdoor searches”. [6] Although it is unclear who these searches have been used on, they could potentially be used to control populations, target activists, or profile minority groups. The misuse of surveillance to target civilians can amplify existing power imbalances and reinforce state violence.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Torres, M. Gabriela (2018), Treviño, A. Javier (ed.), "State Violence", The Cambridge Handbook of Social Problems, vol. 2, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 381–398, doi:10.1017/9781108550710.023, ISBN   978-1-108-42617-6 , retrieved 2024-02-18
  2. ↑ Renzetti, Claire; Edleson, Jeffrey (2008). "State Violence". Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence. SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 689–690.
  3. ↑ Richards, Neil M. (2013). "The Dangers of Surveillance". Harvard Law Review. 126 (7): 1934–1965. ISSN   0017-811X. JSTOR   23415062.
  4. ↑ "NSA Surveillance". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
  5. ↑ "H.R.6304 - 110th Congress FISA Amendment". 10 July 2008.
  6. ↑ Taitz, Sarah (2023-04-11). "Five Things to Know About NSA Mass Surveillance and the Coming Fight in Congress | ACLU". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 2024-03-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.