Globalization and the Changing Face of IDentification

Introduction

National security measures can be defined as those technical and non-technical measures that have been initiated as a means to curb breaches in national security, irrespective of whether these might occur by nationals or aliens in or from outside the sovereign state. National security includes such government priorities as maintaining border control, safeguarding against pandemic outbreaks, preventing acts of terror, and even discovering and eliminating identification fraud. Governments worldwide are beginning to implement information and communication security techniques as a way of protecting and enhancing their national security. These techniques take the form of citizen identification card schemes using smart cards, behavioral tracking for crowd control using closed-circuit television (CCTV), electronic tagging for mass transit using radio-frequency identification (RFID), ePassports for travel using biometrics (Figure 1), and 24×7 tracking of suspected terrorists using global positioning systems (GPS).

Figure 1.

The chip centre page of the ePassport. Over 50 million e-Passports have now been issued. Even though the e-Passport was introduced to ‘enhance security’, some authorities recommend shielding the contactless microchip in a metal jacket to prevent the chip from being read when the passport is closed. If not provided, a sheet of aluminum foil will equally prevent unauthorized access of personal data on the e-Passport. Courtesy of Australian Government.

The electorate is informed that these homeland security techniques are in actual fact deployed to assist government in the protection of its citizenry and infrastructure. The introduction of these widespread measures, however, is occurring at a rapid pace without equivalent deliberation over the potential impacts in the longer term on both citizens and business. This chapter explores the background context to the proliferation of automatic identification and location-based service techniques post September 11, 2001. Such themes as globalization, the role of intelligence in preserving national security, the rise of new terrorism, and the ability to securitize a nation state are explored.

The Impact Of Globalization

Globalization is defined by Findlay (1998, p. viii) as “…the collapsing of time and space – the process whereby, through mass communication, multinational commerce, internationalized politics and transnational regulation, we seem to be moving inexorably towards a single culture…” For Findlay, crime (and more specifically transnational crime), “its representation and its impact are part of globalization.” Some scholars have even gone as far as to pronounce that globalization is a facilitator of modern transnational crime (TNC)transnational crime (TNC)transnational crime (TNC). Globalization is a paradox and reflexive concept. It generates two opposing forces. At first it attempts to bring together people of all nations, to break down borders and barriers alike. Globalization is about coordination, integration and harmonization in a bid to reduce global insecurity by increasing knowledge sharing activities. Yet this same openness and interdependence enables “various risks to destabilize the international economy” (Bruck, 2004, p. 116). For the greater part, modern TNC is piggybacking on global supply chains (Shelley, 2006); in this manner, organized crime groups can quickly form, act, and then disband after fulfilling an objective.