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1 GlobCon 278 (2012)
The Dark Side of Normative Argumentation - The Case of Counterterrorism Policy

handle is hein.journals/globc1 and id is 301 raw text is: Global Constitutionalism (2012), 1:2, 278-312 0 Cambridge University Press, 2012 doi:10.1017/S2045381711000049 The 'dark' side of normative argumentation - The case of counterterrorism policy REGINA HELLER, MARTIN KAHL and DANIELA PISOIU Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH), Germany Email: heller@ifsh.de; kahl@ifsh.de; pisoiu@ifsh.de Abstract: After 9/11 state actors in different parts of the world and to various degrees decided to give security and counterterrorism measures priority over human rights and fundamental freedoms. In order to legitimize their policy choices, governmental actors used normative argumentation to redefine what is 'appropriate' to ensure security. We argue that, in the long run, this may lead to a setback dynamic hollowing out established human and civil rights norms. In this article, we develop a theoretical and analytical framework, oriented along the model of the life cycle of norms, in order to trace 'bad' norm dynamics in the field of counterterrorism. We conceptualize the norm erosion process, particularly focusing on arguments such as speech acts put forward by governmental norm challengers and their attempts to create new meaning and understanding. We also draw on convergence theory and argue that when a coalition of norm challengers develops, using the same or similar patterns of arguments, established international normative orders protecting human rights and civil liberties might be weakened over time and a more fundamental process of norm erosion may take place. Keywords: normative argumentation; counterterrorism; human rights; norm erosion; argumentative convergence Introduction As a result of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in September 2001 many governments around the world developed new counterterrorism strategies and policies to address the new threat of so-called 'jihadist' terrorism. They introduced numerous measures, with and without a given suspicion,' inducing a significant modification or reduction of established constraints to political (executive) action. With respect to counterterrorist measures without suspicion, in the USA and Europe, for example, provisions on the protection of privacy were loosened in order to simplify home searches. I Measures applied with suspicion are directed at alleged criminals only, while measures without suspicion affect all citizens. 278

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