Anti-government extremism is not one coherent ideology or organisation. It can encompass sovereign citizens, conspiracy theorists and others who come to see government institutions as fundamentally corrupt, illegitimate or actively working against ordinary citizens.
(emphasis mine) shit cuz they’re onto me :p
Our research points towards an approach known as procedural justice. “Procedurally just” governance is about how governments exercise their authority. It means treating citizens with respect, making decisions fairly and without bias to prevent benefiting one special-interest group over another, being transparent about motives for legislation or new government processes. It also means giving people meaningful opportunities to have their voices heard.
Importantly, our study found that when people perceived government as more procedurally just they reported lower levels of anger and were less likely to perceive the government as illegitimate.
This relationship was evident among both conspiracy believers and non-believers. It means procedural justice shouldn’t be dismissed as merely good public relations. It potentially forms part of Australia’s strategy for preventing violent extremism.
[…]
Rather, governments need a two-track response. They need to identify and disrupt people moving towards violence. But they also need to reduce the conditions that can make that violence attractive in the first place. These include alienation, anger and a belief that public institutions exercise power without listening to people or treating them fairly and equally.
I thought this was a good and thoughtful piece to have been put out so soon after what appears to be an attempted political assassination of a politician who, near as I can tell, wanted more government transparency and accountability.
Not really a great sign of the times. With government building out some of the largest surveillance machines in the world I suspect we can conclude what the response will be. As the author highlights though, restoring trust and a sense of justice is more important to get back to a society where we feel our concerns can be dealt with non violently.
Oh I fully expect Australia to descend into violent state suppression as climate change worsens. The government already runs blacksites for refugees the UN condems as crimes against humanity and are in direct violation of its treaty obligations. As climate refugees surge and capitalism continues to collapse I don’t imagine things getting better.
Australia is already a police state, and I think the reason the government is enthusiastic about “ai” (along with other govs) is because it makes possible the sort of surveillance and profiling that makes the panopticon look like a private getaway.
It’s just that this path likely only begets more violence and anger.
I would like Australia to be a real democracy, i.e. a country where decisions in all spheres of life are Democratic (most people work under dictatorship dynamics, and that’s what a lot of us spend our time doing) and political life is accountable and transparent. The only way to get there is through collective action, and political consciousness-raising.
In the meantime it would be good if we didn’t walk down a path of distrust and cycles of violence.