Post-9/11 Politics Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The 9/11 attacks dramatically altered domestic politics in the United States and other states. The strikes led to alterations in national security policy in a number of countries as issues such as immigration, nacro-trafficking, and cybercrime were included in broad definitions of homeland security. Meanwhile, the codification of a homeland security doctrine increasingly caused new restrictions on civil liberties. As time progressed, however, concerns about personal and societal rights led to the repeal of some post-9/11 security measures and greater attention on government security programs in the United States and other states.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the administration of George W. Bush initiated the global war on terror which included Operation Enduring Freedom (the invasion of Afghanistan), direct military operations against various terrorists and training facilities, and increased security and economic support for key allies such as Pakistan, the Philippines, and the Central Asian Republics. These measures enjoyed broad public and congressional support. The administration concurrently launched a series of domestic security reforms.

Central to these new initiatives was the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded the surveillance and detention powers of national security bodies, including the Department of Justice and the National Security Agency. Components of the PATRIOT Act were criticized and in some cases, challenged in court, because of concerns over civil liberties. The administration also adopted a policy to detain suspected terrorists who were not U.S. citizens. These persons were designated unlawful enemy combatants, and the majority placed in captivity at the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. These detainments were criticized by even some of the closest allies of the United States.

The second major domestic initiative of the Bush administration was the creation of the Office, and later Department, of Homeland Security. The new body was the greatest reorganization of the federal bureaucracy since World War II (1939–1945), and it brought together twenty-two agencies and 180,000 federal employees. The department was created to bridge the gaps in domestic intelligence sharing and counterterrorism efforts that existed before 9/11 and coordinate domestic security programs. The 2002 act authorizing the new department passed with overwhelming public and congressional support (it passed 295 to 132 in the House and 90 to 9 in the Senate).

The 9/11 attacks made security the major concern for U.S. voters. In 2002, the Republicans were able to counter historic trends in which the party in power in the White House generally lost seats in midterm elections and instead regain the majority in the Senate and add seats in the House of Representatives through a security-focused campaign. National security was also the major issue in the 2004 presidential elections in which Bush was reelected and the Republicans again gained seats in both houses of Congress. However, the administration’s management of the Iraq War (2003–) became increasingly unpopular so that by the 2006 midterm elections, Iraq, the federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a series of congressional scandals resulted in the Democratic takeover of Congress. The election marked the end of the short-term electoral cycle in which domestic security was the main national political issue. However, incidents such as an attempted attack on board a U.S.-bound airliner in December 2009 renewed concerns about homeland security. This and other episodes reinforced the continuing importance of homeland security as a domestic concern.

Throughout the world, the 9/11 attacks prompted new domestic security measures and increased counterterrorism efforts. A range of countries and international organizations offered security assistance to the United States in the aftermath of the attacks. For instance, sixty-eight countries increased intelligence and law enforcement cooperation with the United States and twenty-seven provided direct military assistance for the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan. The attacks also forced a recalculation of global alliances. Pakistan’s importance as a regional ally increased, while the United States forged closer ties with the Central Asian Republics and bolstered counterterrorism funding and military assistance for a variety of countries such as the Philippines, Georgia, and Yemen.

Many individual states adopted heightened internal security measures. In France, in November 2001, a new comprehensive national security measure was enacted that expanded the government’s ability to monitor e-mail and other forms of electronic communication and made it easier to interdict terrorist financing. The United Kingdom passed the Antiterrorism, Crime, and Security Act of 2001 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act of 2005, both of which broadened the counterterrorist powers of the government. In addition, Parliament also passed the 2004 Civil Contingencies Act to improve the ability of the government to respond to large disasters, including massive terrorist attacks. These examples demonstrated the global trend toward increased police, surveillance, and detention powers enacted by states in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Bibliography:

Abele, Robert P. A Beginner’s Guide to the USA PATRIOT Act and Beyond. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2005.
Beckman, James. Comparative Legal Approaches to Homeland Security and Antiterrorism. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2007.
Brill, Steven. After: How America Confronted the September 12 Era. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003.
Cohen, David B., and John W.Wells, eds. American National Security and Civil Liberties in an Age of Terrorism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004.
Jacobson, Isaac. The West at War: U.S. and European Counterterrorism Efforts Post-September 11. Washington, D.C.: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2006.

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