The Prime Minister has led the public attack on Cage. Flickr/Open University. Some rights reserved.
Last week, in a widely trailed speech, the Prime Minister laid out the government's counter-terrorism strategy for the next five years. It is necessary, Cameron explained, to challenge the idea that political violence is rooted in 'historic injustices and recent wars, or... poverty and hardship'. Terrorism, he said, is caused by 'extremist ideology', which his government is determined to confront.
There was little new in Cameron's speech, which simply affirmed in strong terms the authoritarian drift of counter-terrorism policy. Influenced by the security apparatus and its supporters in Parliament, and by neoconservative think tanks, such as the Henry Jackson Society, and (partly) state funded propaganda outfits like Quilliam, policy makers have become increasingly preoccupied with 'non-violent extremism' rather than political violence. Officially this is portrayed as a political campaign against 'intolerance'. Thus Cameron claims that his government will be facing down 'terrorism' and 'extremism' by asserting 'basic liberal values such as democracy, freedom and sexual equality'.
