Citizenship and the cultural (de)legitimisation of civil liberties in Australia.

Title of Project

Citizenship and the cultural (de)legitimisation of civil liberties in Australia.

Name of Advisor/s

Robin Rodd

College

College of Arts, Society & Education

Summary of Project

While civil liberties can be imagined as immutable legal abstractions, they exist in a dynamic field of social relations and cultural values. In the context of fear of refugees and the war on terror, civil liberties have been devalued and diminished relative to a privileging of fear and security. Declining civil liberties have been met with relatively muted civil society resistance. Unlike the United States, for instance, there has been no successful class action to turn back increased state surveillance powers, and civil liberties issues have been politically marginalised or associated with the far right. This project enquires into the ways that civil liberties are supported or delegitimised, both in popular discourse and in everyday social practice. The project asks how changing values relating to civil liberties affect possibilities for democracy and the practice of citizenship.

Key Words

Civil liberties, surveillance, citizenship, liberal democracy, civil society

Would suit an applicant who

A student with a broad background in anthropology and any of politics, history, cultural studies and political philosophy.