there’s no question the security threat of islamism in europe requires
an unpleasant, illiberal solution: surveillance, deportation,
ghettoization.
The above was written in a recent valuable comment here. In my view the diagnosis therein as well as the prescribed therapy is wrong. But of course, that is discussable.
There have been and are threats to security all my life. Lots of bacteria and viruses, my smoking addiction, a cold war that by accident could have gone hot, whatever. But let’s assume the "security threat of islamism" is somehow supposed to be more related to terrorism by a non-state actor than to the driving style of my next door shopkeeper who was by some chance born in Pakistan.
There has been terrorism in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere throughout my life. There have been IRA bombings in Ireland and the UK, the Red Brigades in Italy, Action Direct in France, ETA in Spain, Palestinian actions against Israelis at the Olympics 1968 in Munich, RAF and various neo-nazi groups in Germany, the Oklahoma bombing, 9/11, some British folks of Pakistani descent in London’s tube and daily lots of such stuff is happening in Iraq.
All of these have taken some lives. None of the groups involved or their actions ever were a serious danger to a big mass of people. Statistically, the chance of dying from terrorism was very, very, very low. Currently there is no serious security threat either. The chance to being killed in an accident while crossing a road is much higher than of being wounded in a terrorism incident.
But there are such incidents and some risk and thereby reason to consider how such risk might be lowered.
The second point of the comment asserts that "illiberal solutions" are required. It is simple to reject that with just one question. Have any of the above mentioned historic threats ever been solved through the application of "illiberal solutions?" Not to my knowledge, but if you know any example please tell us about it.
As far as I can tell, all of the people in these terrorist groups were and are some
more or less out-of-norm crazies who justify their doings with an
extreme version and reference to one or another legitimate cause and political movement of their
times.
In the historic norm the extreme crazies lose support and go away when the legitimate movement they are riding on gets integrated into the democratic process.
Giving the movement and its cause the political room it needs takes away the support and justification for the crazies. That does not mean to "give in" to such folks but to include and consider the points they make within the wider political discussion.
For Europe I can identify three issues which need to be accepted and integrated into the regular political discussion and democratic processes:
- egalitarian integration for second generation immigrants,
- acceptance of the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause and support for a just solution,
- the inherent human criminality of neo-colonial tendencies and actions.
Just allowing these points to be discussed openly will help. From that discussion, understanding, adopting, integrating will follow and the "threat" will die away.
Applying an "illiberal solution" will not diminish the threat it is said to fight, but brings up the much bigger threat of police states and militant, undemocratic rulers in our countries.
Looking at the historic data, such seem to be the real dangers to our well-being and lives.