Breaking out of Britain's Neo-Liberal State

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Breaking out of Britain's Neo-Liberal State cDIREoCTIONmFOR THE pass DEMOCRATIC LEFT Breaking out of Britain’s Neo-Liberal State January 2009 Gerry Hassan and Anthony Barnett 3 4 r Tr hink e b m m u N PIECES 3 4 Tr hink e b m u N PIECES Breaking out of Britain’s Neo-Liberal State Gerry Hassan and Anthony Barnett “In the big-dipper of UK politics, the financial crisis suddenly re-reversed these terms. Gordon Brown excavated a belief in Keynesian solutions from his social democratic past and a solidity of purpose that was lacking from Blair’s lightness of being” Compass publications are intended to create real debate and discussion around the key issues facing the democratic left - however the views expressed in this publication are not a statement of Compass policy. Breaking out of Britain’s Neo-Liberal State www.compassonline.org.uk PAGE 1 Breaking out of Britain’s reduced for so many, is under threat with The British Empire State Building Neo-Liberal State no state provisions in place for them. The political and even military consequences England’s “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 Gerry Hassan and Anthony Barnett could well be dire. created a framework of compromise between monarchy and Parliament. It was Nonetheless we should celebrate the followed by the union of England with possible defeat of one aspect of neo- Scotland of 1707, which joined two he world we have lived in, liberal domination. It cheered the different countries while preserving their created from the twin oil-price destruction of a communist world that distinct legal traditions. Since then the T shockwaves of 1973 and 1979 was oppressive and unfree. The freedom it narrative of British history has been the and validated in the eyes of many by the offered in its place, however, had its own adaptability and flexibility of its political events of 1989, is at last suffering its own form of authoritarianism. You can’t buck system. This provided a framework for the crash. The era of Thatcher and Reagan, the market, we were told. We had to be evolution of democracy without rupture inflated by their offspring Clinton, Bush fatalistic and grateful and our standard of or revolt at home, allowing the middle and Blair; the era of unfettered financial living would grow. Forces more powerful classes and then the working classes to be capitalism, unrestrained consumerism and and wise than you and I had already incorporated relatively peacefully into it, (1) a near mystical belief in the power of determined “the official future” . There markets; the neo-liberal epoch of was no alternative. corporate conceit and neo-con “Public discourse adventurism, is drawing to a close. The toxic mix of popular powerlessness, has to be market inevitability and the glorification of reclaimed from Despite the pain, the horrible losses to leadership vindicated by the ever-rising the neo-liberals, come, and the disturbing spectacle of a value of property, was pioneered in Britain whether first wave, by Margaret Thatcher and deepened by left that had proved unable to oppose the second beast in any effective way or prepare for Tony Blair. Here indeed, it is sad to report, wave,instrumental, personal or its downfall now preening itself that it Britain “led the world” - in the direction of knew better all along, this is a time to uncritical subordination to Washington unwittingly. Government and celebrate as well as tremble. It’s good that DC. In the process, the United Kingdom public agencies need to we can now once again pose the became - perhaps more than anywhere fundamentally rethink how they questions about how we organise our outside some city-states and micro-nations conceive and think of policy, the - a neo-liberal state. economies and societies without being language and values in scorned or ignored. This essay is offered, therefore, at a documents, and whose voice At the same time the decades of talk moment of hope as well as danger. It and interest such processes are about “globalisation” are now been seeks to sketch roughly how the UK came serving” revealed as a panglossian deception. A to be a neo-liberal Kingdom and address boondoggle of vast fortunes was some of the issues posed for UK politics, unleashed, justified because benefits would while hoping they have a wider relevance while all enjoyed the material and psychic “trickle down”. Instead we seem to be internationally. And when we use the benefits of a violent empire. witnessing a fearful waterfall of cascading terms “social democracy” and misery, cutbacks, foreclosures and job “progressivism” at points in this essay, we In his new, pioneering study of democracy losses on the middle and working classes do so with a sense of reluctance, in Britain since 1918, David Marquand in the global north, whose elites recognising both that they are identifies the two dominant paternalisms meanwhile are bailed out by governments unsatisfactory and that a “call” unsure of that oversaw the final stages of this they hitherto pretended to despise. And its name is one without a sure sense of domestic process. Whig imperialism and before we turn to the fate of the British itself. While we are in a position to democratic collectivism together have state with which this essay is mainly criticise we are hardly in a position to “shaped and steered Britain through most concerned, we should spare a thought for lecture the world on the best way of the 20th century”. The first is those outside the European welfare forward. So while this essay primarily personified by Burkean gentlemen, the system. Recently a Chinese toy focuses on the possibilities of transforming second by Fabian technocrats. Marquand manufacturer employing 7,000 people shut the British state and space, it does so in also proposes that there are two other his factory in Dongguan overnight as the context of international politics and shaping “strands”: Tory nationalism and exports collapsed. The pride of now political economy undergoing a democratic republicanism. While all four globalisation, that rural misery was planetary confrontation with the fruits of strands may have “home” parties they deregulated capitalism. coexist in other parties too, as well as compass PAGE 2 www.compassonline.org.uk Breaking out of Britain’s Neo-Liberal State within individual personalities. Thus the Brown and Peter Mandelson set about and Brown: the former less imbued with Labour leader Clement Attlee who seeking to save the public sector and the politics of the Labourist tribe and a oversaw the formative government of prevent a catastrophic social and true believer, in so far as he believed “democratic collectivism” after 1945, could educational disintegration. Despite the anything, in the hyperbole of the “new be flexibly Whiggish at home and imperial democratic reforms they inherited from dawn” of ’97. Brown was more a creation abroad; while his most original Tory their manifesto commitments including of the back-story of Labour, partial to successor the Whig imperialist Harold devolution and the Human Rights Act, understanding the world through the eyes Macmillan was a Labour-style collectivist in New Labour’s leaders, as Simon Jenkins of the faithful, and with a genuine concern his concerns for the working classes (2) . has documented in Thatcher and Sons, for ameliorating the plight of the losers in continued the core twin principles of society. This twin domination of the British Thatcher’s regime: the intensification of political system faced an apparently centralised executive authority and the The culmination of the triumph of the terminal crisis by the end of the 1970s. It cultivation of an elite order at ease with a neo-liberal state under New Labour was was an emergency that challenged the politics focused on winners, wealth and symbolised by Gordon Brown’s initial authority and legitimacy of the state itself, corporate logic - a neo-liberal regime. guest list to Chequers, the prime minister’s not just a party political difference over country house. When he gained the the direction government should take. It The godfather of this process whose premiership and could finally call the top was resolved by Margaret Thatcher who influence spans the entire three decades is job his own, two suitably distinguished assaulted “consensus politics”, a term Rupert Murdoch. Like Thatcher, in his men joined him there for the first post- which both identified and repudiated the British role he engaged in a two-front Blair weekend. They were Alan Greenspan mutually shaping collusion of Whigs and conflict with the post-war order of Whigs and Rupert Murdoch, the prime architect collectivists. In the decade that followed and Fabians. While his control of The Sun of the neo-liberal epoch and its ruthless she challenged and broke not only the gave him a cash cow to support his global media mogul. Neither was British or lived role of trade unions but also humiliated expansion, it blasted the values of trade- in the UK. the numerous institutions and attitudes of union solidarity and family respect, both the Labour state and high-Tory exploiting the weakness of a snobbish There is a European element to this as establishment. culture to advance the values of a well. Had Labour reversed Thatcherite consumerism without citizenship, scornful hostility and actively embraced Thatcher’s was a “Tory nationalism” in of the possibility of good government. This membership of the European Union, it Marquand’s terminology. She made powerful attack on traditional working would have joined a project of inter- popular a host of right-wing prejudices class allegiance to democratic collectivism dependent government. Instead it and homilies such as comparing was combined with his ownership of The continued to play the role of “reluctant government expenditure to household Times and Sunday Times, giving Murdoch a partner” to EU integration, while showing spending, and denying the logic of grip on the lucrative weekend purveyor of an obsessional commitment to the “special Keynesian economics, stating that middle-class property and lifestyle news.
Recommended publications
  • Stewart2019.Pdf
    Political Change and Scottish Nationalism in Dundee 1973-2012 Thomas A W Stewart PhD Thesis University of Edinburgh 2019 Abstract Prior to the 2014 independence referendum, the Scottish National Party’s strongest bastions of support were in rural areas. The sole exception was Dundee, where it has consistently enjoyed levels of support well ahead of the national average, first replacing the Conservatives as the city’s second party in the 1970s before overcoming Labour to become its leading force in the 2000s. Through this period it achieved Westminster representation between 1974 and 1987, and again since 2005, and had won both of its Scottish Parliamentary seats by 2007. This performance has been completely unmatched in any of the country’s other cities. Using a mixture of archival research, oral history interviews, the local press and memoires, this thesis seeks to explain the party’s record of success in Dundee. It will assess the extent to which the character of the city itself, its economy, demography, geography, history, and local media landscape, made Dundee especially prone to Nationalist politics. It will then address the more fundamental importance of the interaction of local political forces that were independent of the city’s nature through an examination of the ability of party machines, key individuals and political strategies to shape the city’s electoral landscape. The local SNP and its main rival throughout the period, the Labour Party, will be analysed in particular detail. The thesis will also take time to delve into the histories of the Conservatives, Liberals and Radical Left within the city and their influence on the fortunes of the SNP.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Myth of Margaret Thatcher in Scotland
    Polish Political Science Yearbook vol. 45 (2016), pp. 85–98 DOI: 10.15804/ppsy2016007 PL ISSN 0208-7375 Tomasz Czapiewski University of Szczecin (Poland) The Political Myth of Margaret Thatcher in Scotland Abstract: The article describes and explains the phenomenon of the politi- cal myth of Margaret Thatcher – her anti-Scottish attitude and policies and its impact on the process of decomposition of the United Kingdom. The author indicates that the view of Margaret Thatcher’s dominance in Scotland is simpli- fied, stripped of complexity, ignoring significant information conflicting with the thesis, but that also plays an important role in current politics, legitimizing seces- sionist demands and strengthening the identity of the Scottish community. In the contemporary Scottish debate with its unequivocal defence policy of Thatcher is outside of the discourse, proving its sanctity status. Thatcher could see this special Scottish dimension within the United Kingdom, but treated it rather as a delay in the reforms needed in the country. There are many counterarguments to the validity of the Thatcher myth. Firstly, many negative processes that took place in the 80s were not initiated by Thatcher, only accelerated. Secondly, the Tory decline in popularity in the north began before the leadership of Thatcher and has lasted long after her dismissal. The Conservative Party was permanently seen in Scotland as openly English. Thirdly, there is a lot of accuracy in the opinion that the real division is not between Scotland and England, only between south- ern England and the rest of the country. Widespread opinion that Thatcher was hostile to Scotland is to a large extent untruthful.
    [Show full text]
  • ELECTING the FIRST PARLIAMENT Party Competition and Voter Participation in Scotland
    PARTY POLITICS VOL 10. No.2 pp. 213–233 Copyright © 2004 SAGE Publications London Thousand Oaks New Delhi www.sagepublications.com ELECTING THE FIRST PARLIAMENT Party Competition and Voter Participation in Scotland Steven E. Galatas ABSTRACT Theory regarding turnout in elections suggests that voters are more likely to vote when their vote could be decisive. The article provides a generalized test of the relationship between the likelihood of turning out and the closeness of elections. Data are single-member district (first- past-the-post) and regional (party list) constituency-level results from the Scottish Parliament election of 1999. Scotland provides an excellent case because the 1999 Scottish Parliament was elected using a combi- nation of single-member districts, plus an additional member, regional list alternative vote system. In addition, the Scottish Parliament election was characterized by regional, multiparty competition. Controlling for other factors, the article finds that closeness counts and relates to higher levels of voter participation in the Scottish Parliament elections. This finding holds for single-member district (first-past-the-post) constituen- cies and additional member regional lists. KEY WORDS electoral competition Scottish Parliament voter turnout In 1999, Scottish voters went to the polls for the first time to elect a Scottish Parliament. Although Scotland had a legislative body prior to the Treaty of Union of 1707, the new Parliament created in 1999 was the first democrat- ically elected Scottish Parliament. Elections to the Scottish Parliament featured a deviation from the single-member district-plurality system (SMD-P) familiar to Scottish voters from other electoral contests. Instead, voters selected Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) using an additional member system (AMS).
    [Show full text]
  • Election 2001 Campaign Spending We Are an Independent Body That Was Set up by Parliament
    Election 2001 Campaign spending We are an independent body that was set up by Parliament. We aim to gain public confidence and encourage people to take part in the democratic process within the United Kingdom by modernising the electoral process, promoting public awareness of electoral matters, and regulating political parties. On 1 April 2002, The Boundary Committee for England (formerly the Local Government Commission for England) became a statutory committee of The Electoral Commission. Its duties include reviewing local election boundaries. © The Electoral Commission 2002 ISBN: 1-904363-08-3 1 Contents List of tables, appendices and returns 2 Conclusions 45 Preface 5 Political parties 45 Executive summary 7 Third parties 46 Spending by political parties 7 Candidates’ expenses 46 Spending by third parties 7 Future work programme 47 Spending by candidates 7 Introduction 9 Appendices The role of The Electoral Commission 10 Appendix 1 49 Campaign expenditure by political parties 11 Appendix 2 50 The spending limit 12 Appendix 3 87 Interpretation of legislation 12 Appendix 4 89 Public and media interest in the campaign 13 Appendix 5 90 Commission guidance 13 Appendix 6 97 Completing and reviewing the expenditure returns 13 Candidates’ election expenses at the Analysis of returns 14 2001 general election 99 Northern Ireland analysis 15 Great Britain analysis 17 Problems in categorising expenditure 18 Breakdown of total expenditure: the main three British parties 18 Other parties and trends 19 Apportionment and spending in England, Scotland
    [Show full text]
  • Centre for Political & Constitutional Studies King's College London
    CODIFYING – OR NOT CODIFYING – THE UNITED KINGDOM CONSTITUTION: THE EXISTING CONSTITUTION Centre for Political & Constitutional Studies King’s College London Series paper 2 2 May 2012 1 Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies The Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies is a politically non-aligned body at King’s College London, engaged in and promoting interdisciplinary studies and research into contemporary political and constitutional issues. The Centre’s staff is led by Professor Robert Blackburn, Director and Professor of Constitutional Law, and Professor Vernon Bogdanor, Research Professor, supported by a team of funded research fellows and academic staff at King’s College London specialising in constitutional law, contemporary history, political science, comparative government, public policy, and political philosophy. www.kcl.ac.uk/innovation/groups/ich/cpcs/index. Authorship This report of the Centre for Political and Constitutional Studies was written by Dr Andrew Blick, Senior Research Fellow, in consultation with Professor Robert Blackburn, Director, and others at the Centre, as part of its impartial programme of research for the House of Commons Political and Constitutional Reform Committee into Mapping the Path towards Codifying – or Not Codifying – the United Kingdom Constitution, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Nuffield Foundation. Previous publications in this series Codifying – or Not Codifying – the United Kingdom Constitution: A Literature Review, Series Paper 1, February 2011 ©
    [Show full text]
  • Why Have a Bill of Rights?
    Valparaiso University Law Review Volume 26 Number 1 Symposium: The Bill of Rights Yesterday and Today: A Bicentennial pp.1-19 Celebration Symposium: The Bill of Rights Yesterday and Today: A Bicentennial Celebration Why Have a Bill of Rights? William J. Brennan Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation William J. Brennan Jr., Why Have a Bill of Rights?, 26 Val. U. L. Rev. 1 (1991). Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/vulr/vol26/iss1/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Valparaiso University Law School at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Valparaiso University Law Review by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Brennan: Why Have a Bill of Rights? Valparaiso University Law Review Volume 26 Fall 1991 Number 1 ARTICLES WHY HAVE A BILL OF RIGHTS? WILLIAM J. BRENNAN, JR.- It is a joy as well as an honor to speak to you today about a subject that has been at the heart of my service on the Supreme Court. The American Bill of Rights, guaranteeing freedom of speech, religion, assembly, and the press, along with other important protections against arbitrary or oppressive government action, provides a noble expression and shield of human dignity. Together with the Civil War Amendments, outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude and ensuring all citizens equal protection of the laws and due process of law, the Bill of Rights stands as a constant guardian of individual liberty.
    [Show full text]
  • Autonomy, Community, and Traditions of Liberty: the Contrast of British and American Privacy Law
    AUTONOMY, COMMUNITY, AND TRADITIONS OF LIBERTY: THE CONTRAST OF BRITISH AND AMERICAN PRIVACY LAW INTRODUCTION I give the fight up: let there be an end, A privacy, an obscure nook for me. I want to be forgotten even by God. -Robert Browning1 Although most people do not wish to be forgotten "even by God," individuals do expect their community to refrain from intrusive regula- tion of the intimate aspects of their lives. Thus, the community must strike a balance between legitimate community concerns and the individ- ual's interest in personal autonomy. In free societies, the community os- tensibly speaks through a popularly constituted government. Thus, government protection of privacy rights is a measure of a society's com- mitment to liberty and, in a broader sense, autonomy. Privacy law re- flects the tolerance of a nation. Although privacy is only one example of 2 autonomy, privacy rights are a substantial subset of personal autonomy. Thus, examining privacy rights is one way to evaluate the general mea- sure of liberty a society confers on its members. But, even if one recognizes the need for privacy, the right of privacy cannot be absolute. The existence of political community requires the relinquishment of certain rights, prerogatives, and freedoms.3 As John Locke described, individuals must cede some rights and prerogatives that 1. Paracelsus,in 1 THE POEMS 118, 127 (J. Pettigrew ed. 1981). 2. The autonomy/privacy relation is a difficult matter. Privacy relates to personal autonomy, but they are not coextensive. For example, autonomy would reach public acts such as one's public dress or a speech given at a public gathering, acts that are not encompassed in any notion of privacy.
    [Show full text]
  • A Wee Bit Different: Socio-Cultural Influences on Scottish Marketing
    Published in: Christiane Eisenberg, Rita Gerlach and Christian Handke (eds.). Cultural Industries: The British Experience in International Perspective. 2006. Online. Humboldt University Berlin, Edoc- Server. Available: http://edoc.hu-berlin.de. ISBN 978-3-86004-203-8. A Wee Bit Different: Socio-Cultural Influences on Scottish Marketing Annika Wingbermühle Faculty of Art, University of Passau [email protected] Has the world become the ultimate marketplace? Not really, because resurging nationalism in many European countries indicates that globalisation has still failed to create complete cultural homogeneity. The convergence thesis in cross-cultural marketing therefore appears to be wrong because consumers remain highly susceptible to stimuli that fit their cultural expectations (De Mooij). However, culture as a “whole way of life” (Williams 122) offers predictable social interactions in a post-modern world. Scotland and its quest for an independent identity in particular is a perfect exhibit for this observation. In this country conventional sociological and economic categories turn out to be too wieldy. Therefore, culture is particularly promising as an analytical approach. This paper analyses how cultural differences influence the way the creative industries work. The analysis is based on various works of David McCrone (“Being British”; Understanding Scotland), McCrone et al. (“Who Are We?”), Murray Pittock (Scottish Nationality) and Gerry Hassan (“Anatomy”; “Tales”). Main players in Scottish marketing were interviewed about their views in March 2005. The Scottish trade magazine The Drum offered further insights into the industry. Finally, campaigns were analysed to find out whether or not a ‘Scottish approach’ in marketing exists. All samples are reproduced with kind permission and copyrights remain with the designers.
    [Show full text]
  • William Cobbett, His Children and Chartism
    This is a repository copy of William Cobbett, his children and Chartism. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/82896/ Version: Accepted Version Book Section: Chase, MS (2015) William Cobbett, his children and Chartism. In: Grande, J and Stevenson, J, (eds.) William Cobbett, Romanticism and the Enlightenment: Contexts and Legacy. The Enlightenment World, 31 . Pickering & Chatto . ISBN 9781848935426 Reuse Unless indicated otherwise, fulltext items are protected by copyright with all rights reserved. The copyright exception in section 29 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 allows the making of a single copy solely for the purpose of non-commercial research or private study within the limits of fair dealing. The publisher or other rights-holder may allow further reproduction and re-use of this version - refer to the White Rose Research Online record for this item. Where records identify the publisher as the copyright holder, users can verify any specific terms of use on the publisher’s website. Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ 1 COBBETT, HIS CHILDREN AND CHARTISM Malcolm Chase William Cobbett was part of the ‘mental furniture’ of the Chartists, contrary to one biographer’s claim that they had ‘little in common’ with him.1 James Watson, one of London’s leading radical publishers remembered his mother ‘being in the habit of reading Cobbett’s Register’.2 Growing up in a Chartist home, W.
    [Show full text]
  • Course Document
    SCHOOL OF DIVINITY, HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY ACADEMIC SESSION 2018-2019 HI306T PEOPLE POWER: NEW SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN POST-WAR SCOTLAND 30 CREDITS: 11 WEEKS PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY: The full set of school regulations and procedures is contained in the Undergraduate Student Handbook which is available online at your MyAberdeen Organisation page. Students are expected to familiarise themselves not only with the contents of this leaflet but also with the contents of the Handbook. Therefore, ignorance of the contents of the Handbook will not excuse the breach of any School regulation or procedure. You must familiarise yourself with this important information at the earliest opportunity. COURSE CO-ORDINATOR Dr Alex Campsie Crombie Annexe 108 Email: [email protected] Tel: 01224-272460 Office Hours: Wednesdays 10am-12pm Discipline Administration: Mrs Barbara McGillivray/Mrs Gillian Brown 50-52 College Bounds 2019 Room CBLG01 - 01224 272199/272454 2018 | [email protected] - Course Document 1 TIMETABLE For time and place of classes, please see MyAberdeen Students can view their university timetable at http://www.abdn.ac.uk/infohub/study/timetables-550.php COURSE DESCRIPTION The last few years have catapulted mass politics to the fore of public consciousness. The Labour Party has seemingly reinvigorated itself by returning to its roots as a ‘social movement’; during the EU referendum Leave activists utilized – to varying degrees of legality – social media to engage large- scale networks of voters; and in Scotland the Yes campaign prided itself on harnessing people power in a way that other mainstream UK parties could not. But this is nothing new.
    [Show full text]
  • 20 Years of the Scottish Parliament
    SPICe Briefing Pàipear-ullachaidh SPICe 20 Years of the Scottish Parliament David Torrance (House of Commons Library) and Sarah Atherton (SPICe Research) This is a special briefing to mark the 20th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament. This briefing provides an overview of the path to devolution; the work of the Parliament to date, and considers what may be next for the Scottish Parliament. 27 June 2019 SB 19-46 20 Years of the Scottish Parliament, SB 19-46 Contents The road to devolution ___________________________________________________4 Session 1: 1999-2003 ____________________________________________________6 Central themes of Session 1 ______________________________________________7 Party political highlights __________________________________________________7 Key legislation _________________________________________________________8 Further information______________________________________________________8 Session 2: 2003-2007 ____________________________________________________9 Central themes of Session 2 _____________________________________________10 Party political highlights _________________________________________________10 Key legislation ________________________________________________________ 11 Further information_____________________________________________________ 11 Session 3: 2007-2011____________________________________________________12 Central themes of Session 3 _____________________________________________13 Party political highlights _________________________________________________15 Key legislation ________________________________________________________16
    [Show full text]
  • Harvard University's
    A joint project of Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and Harvard Law School Long-Term Legal Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terrorism Philip B. Heymann, Harvard Law School Juliette N. Kayyem, Kennedy School of Government Sponsored by The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (MIPT) The Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government administered the Long-Term Legal Strategy Project from April 2003 - November 2004. The Belfer Center provides leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the most important challenges of international security and other critical issues where science, technology, environmental policy, and international affairs intersect. To learn more about the Belfer Center, visit www.bcsia.ksg.harvard.edu. Long-Term Legal Strategy Project Attn: Meredith Tunney John F. Kennedy School of Government 79 JFK Street Cambridge, MA 02138 (617) 495-5275 www.ksg.harvard.edu/bcsia/longtermlegalstrategy www.mipt.org/Long-Term-Legal-Strategy.asp Harvard University’s Long-Term Legal Strategy Project for Preserving Security and Democratic Freedoms in the War on Terrorism Board of Advisors All members of the Board of Advisors agreed with the necessity to evaluate the legal terrain governing the “war on terrorism.” This final Report is presented as a distillation of views and opinions based on a series of closed-door meetings of the Board. The advisors have from time to time been offered the opportunity to express views or make suggestions relating to the matters included in this Report, but have been under no obligation to do so, and the contents of the Report do not represent the specific beliefs of any given member of the Board.
    [Show full text]