Concept of Risk in the Security of Liberal Government - Essay Example

Introduction Post 9/11 world has become a complex world and the overall risk of governance has increased owing to the increased risks to the security of a nation. The intertwined linkages between the international politics and terrorism has further magnified the role of security as one of the leading causes of concerns for most of the governments in developed as well as developing world. Almost every modern and developed nation is part of the war on terrorism however, at the same time; most of these States are also facing a great risk. The overall focus on the risk as the most critical aspect of the governance and politics has its roots in the era emerging as an aftermath of the cold war which witnessed the collision of two super powers with each other and resulting split up of the one. What is however, critical to note that after the cold war era, the overall focus from assessing the dangers to the security to the overall risks that may be arising out of the changing situation? This transition from threat based assessment to risk based assessment as well as assuming probabilities and their impact therefore requires a comprehensive understanding of the overall risk approach that has been adapted. This transition therefore needs to be understood in larger context of the political as well as from international relations point of view. This essay will attempt to argue the concept of risk within the context of the security of liberal government as the risk management. Security and Risk The 9/11 Commission also blamed the various security agencies for their failure to anticipate and imagine the threats that were being present to the security of the US. Similar findings were also present into the report of the Commission that probed the London Bombings and stressed on the need for developing the ability of the government agencies to look into the unknown and perceive the various risks that may be arising.(Goede, 2008). This approach therefore requires that the modern societies must develop their abilities to pre-empt the risks and have the required resources and will to combat such risks in different manners. The events of the 9/11 and 7/7 therefore also indicates towards the need for adapting an approach that will allow the governments and societies to bring forth changes that can safeguard them against the potential risks. Traditional methods of countering with the security threats therefore may not suffice given the fact that the world at large has became really fragmented and the conflict of interests between nations is becoming more vivid and threatening. It is argued that with the passage of time, the overall nature and orientation of the concept of risk and security has changed. Though risk, in its basic form, is considered as the degree of uncertainty about future however, it is also termed as the “dangerousness of future” or rather it is termed as probability of uncertain happening in the future. This definition of risk therefore requires one to understand its dynamics in more comprehensive manner as it requires clear and precise anticipation of the future events and how they may have any impact on any of the variables. What is also significant to understand that the term risk also implies that there must be implicit as well as explicit actions that must be undertaken in order to minimize the impact of uncertain events of future? Though such events may be positive and their outcome may be favorable however, negative consequences of the future events may become relatively more difficult to negotiate with and the governments as well as States may have to resort to the means which may be sometimes more deliberate to take actions to prevent such risks or minimize such risks.(Aradau, Guerrero & Munster,2008) Risk has also been a statistical concept and widely used in the finance as well as economics and was applied to the concepts like Game Theory. The quantification of the risk often involved the quantification of the certain thresholds above which the risk was considered as unacceptable. Similarly, uncertainty was also linked with the risk however; there are subtle differences that distinguish the uncertainty from the risk.(Luhmann & Barrett,1993). In much larger context, security and risk are correlated with each other as one implies the perfection of other. Higher the risk more will be the concerns for the security and safety. Thus the term risk society is a society that is often associated with the concern for future however; this risk may be emerging out of the modernity itself. It is also argued that the absolute security may not be achieved and there is always a chance for something to happen therefore the element of risk always remains when one conceives the idea of the security. Similarly, the risk and danger are also two concepts which need to be widely understood and correlated in order to ensure that the effective risk management practices are implemented. This is because of the fact that the Risk and Society The concept of risk within the sociological concept is one of the leading debates in this discipline as the available literature indicates the origin of this issue within the modernity itself. Traditionally, it has been argued that the risks that have been faced were mostly the conceived as external- something which was forced by the external forces. However, as the society progressed and modernity took its roots, the risks started to emerge within the modern society itself. Such risks may include the risks for security, pollution, illnesses and diseases. These manufactured risks are therefore considered as the risks which are self created and are based on the advances made by the human society itself. The early history of modernity indicates that the focus on the individual and individual liberty and freedom was of utmost importance. The resulting changes that took place as a result of this shift into the perception and basic ideologies of the societies not only changed the way normal social relations were conceived but radically altered the role of various institutions such as Churches. According to Beck, there were fundamentally three distinctive changes that took place as a result of this change including the radical redefinition of the role of Church which became relatively less critical of the changes because the alternative avenues for shaping the public life of individual started to emerge in the shape of clubs and unions. Secondly, the concept of family started to change also as relationships became impersonal and work and personal life were consciously separated from each other. This also brought forward the role of the modern corporations into action too as the new and modern work organizations almost change the every manner in which life was traditionally affected. The way in which corporations took over as the agents of social change depict the manner in which modernity took its root into the new and emerging society. The concept of risk society where risks and threats to the security are viewed more as the structural threats therefore there is a greater emphasis on the process of negotiation certain norms. The interconnectedness of the world and the role of airports which serve as the interconnecting point for the biopolitics therefore provide an ample opportunity to view risk in much broader concept and any analysis shall also encompass the integration of various inter-related concepts in order to comprehensively understand the issue. What is however, critical to note that such risks can be perceived and as such there may be an accurate assessment of the overall risks faced by the nations and how they can be over-run with proper and timely actions? Such actions can be in the form of planned regulations as well as other steps that may regulate to bring back the balance or create the harmony between the various forces of the society. What is also critical to understand that the arguments are also indicating towards the changing relationships between the different classes of society and the various other sociological forces? The resulting changes that could have taken place as a result of this therefore indicate towards much larger consequences of the concept of risk in modernity. Liberal Governance Liberalism in its most basic orientation places importance in the individual liberty and as such all the subsequent governance mechanisms must be formulated in such a manner that upholds the individual liberty and freedom. The concept of equal rights as well as equal freedom therefore is one of the principle pillars of the liberalism and liberal governance. Liberal governance or rather liberal government always take actions that maximize the happiness for the greatest number of people and a such any actions that violate this fundamental principle are considered as anti-liberal. In today’s modern world, liberal way of governance therefore is considered as the most important and essential way for understanding each others’ rights as well as obligations towards the society as a whole. The liberal ideologies which started to influence the governance 18th century, also advocates the manner in which the relationships between the State and the individual are set in and as such the overall duties and obligations of State and citizens are also identified. Each liberal government therefore has the moral obligation to take actions that can avoid harm for its citizens and bring in the overall happiness for all. The concept of risk and security when viewed in this perspective therefore requires that the liberal governments must undertake to take actions that can potentially avoid the negative consequences of the risks arising out of the various internal as well as external forces. The emergence of the modern society also resulted into the radical shift into the important elements of life and society in the traditional manner. The rise of educated class and knowledge works redefined the relationship between the workers and the modes of production and as such knowledge now is considered as the most important element of achieving the certain association with any class in the modern society. The fluid nature of the individual personality, the greater role of corporate as the means of providing freedom to the individuals as well as the structural reflexivity therefore become the dominant thoughts of the modern day and all liberal governments must adhere to such changes in order to successfully address the issues emerging out of modernity. As discussed above that the risk is often associated with the future and the liberal ideologies are forward looking therefore both the risk and the modernity go hand in hand with each other. The focus on the future and rupture from the past made the liberal societies one of the dynamic engines of change however this engine also proved self destructive as the underlying concepts of modernity require a continuous exploitation of the resources which in turn creates the risks for the modern society itself. Biopolitical life Liberal ideologies give Life the most important recognition as the supreme thing in the society and as such the security of life is of utmost importance for the liberal governments. The bio-politics of life therefore advocates the use of political advocacy for the welfare of all forms of life. Thus the direction of the public policies is always directed at the safety and welfare of all the forms of life that exist in a given society.(Dillon,2008). Michel Foucault defined this concept in much larger context and advocated that the life as well as the any living form will be the main point of political conflicts as well as the economic struggles. Thus risk when viewed within this perspective outline that the probabilities of the conflict will increase if the overall conflict between the nations is mostly based on the preservation of life in all forms. The events of 9/11 and what subsequently happened clearly indicate the manner in which the risk based approach was adapted as an off-shoot of the bio-politics of life and pre-emptive war strategy was adapted by the US to attach those threats which may create risk in future for the American society. The biopolitics of life therefore places life and the individual as the main driver of the politics and the resulting strategic coordination of various forces. However, underlying this concept is also the issue of the use of power to deprive others from what is their logical and legal right. The risk based approach in biopolitics of life allows governments to take on the various economic and military adventures against the sources of perceived risks however, underlying this is the more general concept of the forcing others to the will of mighty. The governments therefore tend to use different means through which they can basically adapt the risk based approach to avoid the future security risks. Airports serve as one of the most important places wherein the governments can effectively put in place various security nets. The flow of immigrants- both legal as well as illegal is therefore one of the critical themes based on which the bordering and policing of the airports is undertaken. The liberal governments, though often tend to allow the personal freedom, however, it often becomes a dilemma for them when they confront the issues like the ones they face while implementing the immigration controls. The systematic bordering and policing of the airports therefore also creates an issue of governmentability. Foucault considers this as the implementation of the tactics rather than laws to ensure that the governments use biopolitics of life to negotiate with the perceived risks. Within this context, the security apparatus that is being placed at the airports and the controls that are being placed are basically the tactics that are being used by the governments to minimize the threats.(Salter,2008). Apart from this, the risks and dangerous arising out of the diseases such as HIV AIDS often require governments to take actions to preserve the life. Thus the subsequent health regulations as well as the budgetary support that is to be provided by the government. The risk technologies therefore shall be at the forefront of problemization of the risk and how and what can be done in order to overcome such risks in broader context. Conclusion The emergence of modern society has underlined the impact of the risk as it believed that the risks are emerging from within the modern society itself. The development of the modern society created a radical rupture from the traditional society however, the development in technology as well as the economics and governance mechanisms brought forward more critical risks to the society itself. The liberal government which is believed to be the torch bearer of the individual liberty and therefore for it the overall risk management becomes more critical in nature. The political focus on the life therefore gave liberal governments more space to politicize the life and take on actions that may apparently result into the welfare of the life in general but may also serve as the mean for suppressing others. The overall focus on the risk management therefore the security issue in liberal government itself is a critical issue for risk management. References 1. Aradau, C & Lobo-Guerrero, L (2008) Security, Technologies of Risk, and the Political: Guest Editors Introduction. Security Dialogue. 39 (2-3) 147 2. Barrett, R & Luhmann, N (1993) Risk: a sociological theory. London: Walter de Gruyter. 3. Dillon, M (2008) Underwriting Security. Security Dialogue. 39 (2-3) 309–332 4. Goede, M (2008) Beyond Risk: Premediation and the Post-9/11 Security Imagination. Security Dialogue. 39 (2-3) 155 5. Salter, M (2008). Politics at the Airport. Minnesota: U of Minnesota Press. Read More