Publication

This publication discusses the Australian counterterrorism policy and its impact on democracy and civil liberties. According to the author, several waves of legislative reform have led to a progressive hardening of the Australian state’s capacity to intrude into the lives of ordinary citizens and to detain and prosecute individuals suspected of terrorist-related activity without regard to the due processes of law. The author concludes that the Howard government’s approach to counterterrorism has not only diminished Australian democracy, but it is also undermining a long tradition of multiculturalism and forcing Muslim communities into a defensive posture that threatens to isolate them from their fellow Australians and complicate future counterterrorism efforts.