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6 The report of the 22 July Commission

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Security after the unthinkable
This chapter is in the book Security after the unthinkable

Abstract

This chapter is a comprehensive analysis of the report of the 22/7 Commission, published one year after the attacks. The analysis begins with a discussion of the concept of security used in the report, and in particular the tacit relation assumed between society and security. The chapter begins by focussing on one of the core concepts of the report, ‘defence’, and in particular the defence of the Norwegian ‘we’. This analysis constitutes the foundation for a reflection on the power of concepts, and the conflict of concepts that at times characterises collective crises. The chapter continues with reflection on the social meaning of terrorism and the correlation between societal values and terrorist threat, before turning to a close analysis of the 22/7 Commission’s official mandate. The formulation of the mandate leads to a consideration of the agency of society itself and of the accountability of society as an actor. In this context, it then asks in what way society is accountable or responsible for the damages done to its members, and what kind of ethics and values it can be expected to embody.

Abstract

This chapter is a comprehensive analysis of the report of the 22/7 Commission, published one year after the attacks. The analysis begins with a discussion of the concept of security used in the report, and in particular the tacit relation assumed between society and security. The chapter begins by focussing on one of the core concepts of the report, ‘defence’, and in particular the defence of the Norwegian ‘we’. This analysis constitutes the foundation for a reflection on the power of concepts, and the conflict of concepts that at times characterises collective crises. The chapter continues with reflection on the social meaning of terrorism and the correlation between societal values and terrorist threat, before turning to a close analysis of the 22/7 Commission’s official mandate. The formulation of the mandate leads to a consideration of the agency of society itself and of the accountability of society as an actor. In this context, it then asks in what way society is accountable or responsible for the damages done to its members, and what kind of ethics and values it can be expected to embody.

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