Ebook: The New Politics Of Surveillance And Visibility

This collection challenges conventional wisdom and advances new theoretical approaches through a series of studies of surveillance in policing, the military, commercial enterprises, mass media, and health sciences. Since the terrorist attacks of September 2001, surveillance has been put forward as an essential tool in the 'war on terror/ with new technologies and policies offering police and military operatives enhanced opportunities for monitoring suspect populations. In addition, the last few years have seen consumer tastes become increasingly codified, with 'data mines' of demographic information such as postal codes and purchasing records. Surveillance has also recently emerged as a form of entertainment, with 'reality' shows becoming the dominant genre on network and cable television. In the The New Politics Of Surveillance And Visibility editors, Kevin D. Haggerty and Richard V. Ericson bring together leading experts to analyse how society is organized through surveillance systems, technologies, and practices. They demonstrate how the new political uses of surveillance make visible that which was previously unknown, blur the boundaries between public and private, and alter processes of democratic accountability. This collection challenges conventional wisdom and advances new theoretical approaches on the subject of surveillance through a series of studies on its implications in such areas as policing, the military, commercial enterprise, mass media, and the health sciences.