SURVEILLANCE IN GERMANY AFTER 9/11

ABSTRACT

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, surveillance pressure on immigrants increased considerably. The trend was the globalization of surveillance of the world population but especially of immigrants. 9/11 was not a turning point, however, since surveillance was already headed towards being globalized. The post-9/11 context accelerated this process. The economic and political developments that have taken place after 9/11 demonstrate that the processes of globalization, immigration and surveillance are closely linked. Today, immigrants from Turkey in Germany experience surveillance within this context. The regulations of the European Union, the policies of the German government and global political-economic processes play interdependent roles in this surveillance which is now more intensified, focused, arbitrary and widespread. Those groups who are economically, religiously, politically, and culturally marginalized are the primary targets of surveillance. The case of immigrants from Turkey can be used to exemplify the surveillance of immigrants in advanced capitalist countries.

Keywords:

• surveillance
• 9/11
• immigrants
• Germany

Acknowledgements

This article is based on my Ph.D. study supervised by Professor David Lyon. I would like to thank him and Professor Elia Zureik whose comments helped me produce this piece. I would also like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) and Queen's University that supported my field research. Finally, I wish to thank two anonymous referees for their critical insights.

Notes

¹German Embassy in Ottawa, 29.12.2005.

²European Security, 9.1.2006.

³NTVMSNBC, 22.10.2004.

⁴Uğur Mumcu was well-known for his investigative techniques. In 1993, Mumcu was assassinated in Ankara.

⁵Evrensel Avrupa, 11.2.2005.

⁶Evrensel, 8.2.2005.

⁷Özgür Politika, 21.6.2004.

⁸Evrensel Avrupa, 21.4.2005.

⁹Evrensel Avrupa, 17–18.12.2005.

¹⁰Evrensel Avrupa, 23.5.2005.

¹¹World Socialist Web Site, 3.8.2005.

¹²NTVMSNBC, 3.1.2006.

¹³Zaman, 19.1.2006.

¹⁴NTVMSNBC, 27.1.2006.

¹⁵Radikal, 27.1.2006.

¹⁶NTVMSNBC, 6.5.2006.

¹⁷Anadolu Federasyonu, e. V, 3.3.2007.

¹⁸The representatives of the KKH did not agree to the disclosure of their names.

¹⁹The interviewee did not agree to the disclosure of his/her name and of the name of his/her association.

²⁰The BTKB (Women's Union of Turkey in Berlin) is working especially on the problems of female immigrants.

²¹The TDU (Turkish-German Businessmen Association in Berlin-Brandenburg) aims to organize the economic power of immigrants from Turkey.