Public Perceptions of Threat in Britain: Security in an Age of Austerity

The international political landscape in which Britain operates has been transformed dramatically since the Cold War as a result of increased interconnectedness arising from globalisation, according to recent National Security Strategies published in 2008 and 2010. No longer are British interests at home and abroad considered to be under threat from one particular state, but rather from a complex web of threats said to include: international terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, conflict and failed states, pandemics, and trans-national crime. Successive Labour and Conservative-Liberal Democratic governments have pledged not only to develop a resilient security architecture designed to identify and mitigate against the effects of these threats. One of their key objectives has also been to reassure the British public, to heighten collective levels of security among the population, and to reduce subjective feelings of being "threatened". Yet, despite a tripling of the security budget since 2001 to just over £3.5 billion by 2011, little is known about public attitudes towards security threats, what sorts of issues ordinary people find threatening, whether they agree with -- or indeed are aware of -- governments' attempts to make them feel more "secure", and whether these attempts have any impact. This lack of information about public perceptions of security threats in Britain is made all the more serious in view of the need for reductions in the fiscal deficit and tough decisions about public spending in all areas of government including National Security.

The aim of our project, therefore, is to address this gap by launching an innovative and timely pilot investigation into a) how members of the public understand the related concepts of "threat" and "security", b) what they consider to be the most pressing threats to their security in contemporary political life, c) how and whether perceived threats to security influence other political attitudes such as tolerance of outgroups, and d) whether their views coincide or diverge from what the government's National Security Strategy presents as the greatest threats to British security and effective ways to respond to and mitigate them. Our programme of research seeks to gather views from across the main regions of the British Isles, including people of varying lifestage from different socio-economic, religious and cultural backgrounds. As well as a large-scale survey involving 2000 respondents, we shall conduct "mini groups" of 3-4 respondents in order to obtain views from individuals in-depth but also to examine group interactions. Our results will then be compared and contrasted with elite representations of threat, as found in, inter alia, the National Security Strategies, to build a picture of the congruence between "official" and "everyday" attitudes towards security. In keeping with the present government's 'Big Society' approach, the findings of the study will feed the attitudes and opinions of members of the public into substantive policy debates, such as those pertaining to the 2010 Security Defence and Security Review. We shall achieve this feed-back to key stakeholders through a series of policy papers to be presented at briefings with key organisations and end-users (Cabinet Office, National Security Council, Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism). Additionally, the project will open up new and innovative avenues for future academic research into public perceptions of threat in comparative contexts and cognitive and affective influences on threat definition more generally in the sub-disciplines of security studies and political psychology, respectively.

In the 2008 National Security Strategy the then Labour government made a commitment to furthering dialogue with, inter alia, the public and academia in order to build a shared understanding of the security threats facing Britain today:

'We encourage interested parties to contribute to the debate on strategy, and will seek to encourage the participation of a much wider circle of expertise in addressing national security issues. [...] We will also look for new opportunities to seek views from members of the public. This strategy marks the next step in a process of engagement designed to ensure that government thinking on national security constantly keeps pace with the rapidly evolving global security environment' (HMSO, 2008: 61).

The subsequent 2010 National Security Strategy reaffirmed this commitment to recognise the contribution of individuals and communities to national security. Such an approach is also reflected in the aims of the coalition government's 'Big Society' agenda, which, indeed, paved the way for the establishment of the new National Security Council.

This project will contribute to the goal of widening public and academic engagement in the formulation and review of British security policy by gathering valuable qualitative and quantitative data about how different groups in the British public understand the concept of security threat, what they consider the greatest security threats to be, and whether or not they are aware of, agree with and/or respond in the intended direction to existing government strategies to deal with those threats.

The findings of the research have the potential to impact on contemporary security policy by providing key government departments and agencies with a more in-depth understanding of threat perception among the British public. Because the study stratifies its respondents in terms of gender, age, region, socio-economic background, and religious beliefs, our results will offer a more nuanced understanding of public perceptions of threat than currently exists.

The data collected and analysed will have particular benefits for key stakeholders in local and central government departments and agencies tasked with the formulation and review of security policy (e.g. Home Office, Cabinet Office, National Security Council), threat analysis and management (e.g. Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism, Joint-Terrorism Analysis Centre) and public liaison (e.g. Department for Communities and Local Government, Association of Chief Police Officers, National Policing Improvement Agency). Briefings will be held in conjunction with the Royal Institute for International Affairs at Chatham House where the main findings of the project will be presented to representatives of the above user-groups. A policy paper will also be launched for wider dissemination.

In addition to these benefits, the project will also engage with various Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) that represent the interests of certain sectors of society whose perceptions of threat we seek to investigate (e.g. the Muslim Council of Britain, Age Concern). Other NGOs whose work intersects with the politics of threat-management and perception will also benefit from our results (e.g. Liberty, Statewatch, Human Rights Watch). Our findings will be fed to these NGOs via briefing papers and meetings on request.

A website hosted by the Universities of Exeter and Warwick will enable broader public access to the outputs of the research programme. Short presentations given by the PI and Co-I will be recorded and uploaded to our respective University's 'youtube' site. Comment pieces will also be published via the Guardian Online.