HIGH FLYERS THINK TANK

Safeguarding Australia

4 April 2003

Focus Group D. The role of the social sciences

Chair: Dr Toni Makkai
Raconteur: Dr Mark Thomson

We define social science to include not just psychology, sociology and criminology but also areas like economics, social work, management science, law and relevant humanities like political science and history. Thus defined, social science represents a body of expertise that is relevant to the prevention, detection, response to, and recovery from, terrorism. Indeed the social sciences study people, and terrorism is a phenomenon involving people be they victims, potential victims or perpetrators.

While the social sciences cannot alone provide a solution to terrorism, they will be an essential part of any solution through multidisciplinary research.

Prevention and detection

We need to understand why people commit terrorist acts. To combat international terrorism we need to explore the root causes beyond the glib assumptions often made in the media. Australia has a considerable body of expertise in regional matters and this could be brought to bear through multidisciplinary area studies that draw together disparate bodies of knowledge into a coherent picture of a country or region. At home, we need to explore how the inclusive approach of multiculturalism can be further used to mitigate alienation and hostility within Australian communities. Overall, we need to research the social underpinning of how individuals come to see violence as a remedy to their concerns, especially among young men who often represent the active face of terrorism.

In understanding the threat, we need to ensure that our risk analysis takes full account of social and economic factors and not just the easily quantified aspects of direct physical impact and cost. In communicating to the community about the threat we need to understand their fears and expectations. Social science can provide the tools to tailor public information programs and test their effectiveness.

Response and recovery

Human factors pervade every decision, command and implementation process. We need to understand how responses to terrorist acts can most effectively be coordinated taking account of the fallibility of the people concerned. The current tangle of legal responsibility for responding to terrorism further complicates the situation. These are problems where management theory, law and psychology are central.

We need to understand how victims and the broader community can best be supported through difficult times. The fullest range of options for dealing with recovery from terrorist acts needs to be explored to determine the best mix of centralised and community-based programs. This could be informed through studies of communities recovering from disasters.

The social sciences are essential to understanding the underlying causes of terrorism and therefore will inform strategies aimed at reducing its occurrence. When prevention fails, the social sciences can formulate short-term responses and recovery programs. Social science expertise should be used in contingency planning and counter-terrorism exercises.

There is a delicate balance to be reached between the effective policing of terrorism and the protection of civil liberties. This balance will ultimately be determined through the political process, but it should be informed by the best advice available from the relevant disciplines.