Blurred boundaries: how neoliberalisation has shaped policy development of post-9/11 counterterrorism policing in London and New York City

This research study examines the policy formation of post-9/11 government led community engagement and partnerships with Muslim communities in London and New York City between 2001 and 2014 situated within the macro political economic context of neoliberalism and related socio-political phenomena that have shaped post-9/11 United Kingdom and United States counterterrorism strategy. This research study has two research questions: 1. Can a clear difference in the strategies used in approaches to countering post-9/11 Al Qaeda inspired terrorism measures targeting Muslim communities be identified in London and New York? 2. How can situating this examination in the context of neoliberalism as illustrated by the breaking down of a number of traditional binaries in the larger social context, specifically the theoretical debates of the state of exception, the convergence of internal and external security and multiculturalism, provide clearer understanding of similarities or differences between London and New York? This study compares the policy formation and evolution of government initiated community engagement and partnerships with Muslim communities strategies used to counter post-9/11 Al Qaeda inspired terrorism in Muslim communities by the London Metropolitan Police Service (London Met) and the New York City Police Department (NYPD). To thoroughly understand these policy approaches, this research study has situated the research within the larger socio-political contexts in which these programmes were formed. Using a mixed methods research methodology comprised of documentary analysis of official United Kingdom and United States documents, discourse analysis of key terrorism and counterterrorism speeches by political elites in the United Kingdom and United States, and semi-structured interviews with elite police and policymaking officials involved in counterterrorism, this study found that neoliberalism, and specifically the significant breakdowns in traditional social binaries have impacted post-9/11 counterterrorism policing in London and New York City. This study concludes that understanding the effects of neoliberalism in this policy area through the blurring of traditional binaries including distinctions between the state of exception and non-state of exception, internal and external security, and United Kingdom and United States approaches to multiculturalism have made historical distinctions between London Met and NYPD approaches to counterterrorism much less significant in the post-9/11 era, although some distinctions remain in their respective approaches to government-led community engagement and partnerships with Muslim communities