Norwegian media substantiation of counterterrorism measures

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how terrorism countermeasures have been justified and reasoned for in the public arena, specifically in Norwegian media discourses from 1993 to 2007. Changes in the media discourse on the terrorism threat and terrorism countermeasures have been investigated by analyzing the changes in the media representation of the terrorism threat and the arguments behind the implementation of counterterrorism measures. The analysis shows that the media’s framing of terrorism has gone from presenting terrorism mainly as a threat against specific people or delimited events related to international conflicts in the 1990s to a threat against civilians and whole sectors of society after 9/11. Terrorism is presented through the media after 9/11 as an omnipresent, societal threat that citizens should be protected from no matter how low the probability of this terrorism might be. In parallel, counterterrorism measures have gone from being described as threats against civil liberties in the 1990s to a necessity after 9/11. The media articles have given a picture of terrorism countermeasures as a topic not defined on the basis of traditional normative risk criteria. As presented in the media, these measures seem beyond rational evaluation and assessment. They have primarily been described as necessary and independent of the risk; factors such as precaution, compliance, solidarity, and moral obligations have been the dominant underpinning arguments behind their implementation. This approach to counterterrorism might (if unquestioned) pave the way for further implementation of such measures.

Keywords:

• terrorism
• terrorism countermeasures
• risk
• media

Notes

1. The two attacks on 22 July 2011 were carried through by a single perpetrator, Anders Behring Breivik, a 32-year-old Norwegian anti-multiculturalist and right wing extremist. The first attack killed eight people, and was a car bomb explosion in Oslo within the executive government quarter of Norway. The second attack killed 69 people, and occurred less than two hours later at a summer camp on the island of Utøya. The camp was organized by the AUF, the youth division of the ruling Norwegian Labour Party.

2. The articles were collected from the database Retriever (http://www.retriever-info.com/no/) (search conducted 25 November 2008). The Norwegian version of the following key word were used: (terror*) and (threats* or danger* or risk*) and (safety* or emergency preparedness* or security* or measures*).