ECPR General Conference: Panel on Surveillance Policies and the Governance of Surveillance

The increase in Surveillance in recent years seems to go hand in hand not with decreasing but increasing surveillance regulation. Ever more laws and directives are passed that govern the nowadays almost ubiquitous practice of surveillance. These policies define legitimate and illegitimate forms of, reasons for and roles in surveillance. Therefore they resemble both an obstacle to as well as a basis of surveillance.

This panel at the General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) brings together works that focus on specific surveillance policies and examine the particular influence of these policies and their underlying principles. Are the policies in question conducive or confining for surveillance? Does their enabling or hindering effect on surveillance serve the stated objectives of the policies? And which conclusions can be drawn regarding the actors who have formulated or implemented these policies? The contributions to the panel provide answers to such questions by analyzing policies from the national and the supranational level, their implications and actors involved. Kilian Vieth will present policy-oriented work focused on international good practice in intelligence oversight and legal safeguards.

ECPR’s General Conference remains Europe's largest annual gathering of political scientists, often attracting more than 2,000 scholars from throughout the world and at all stages of their career. With nearly 500 Panels taking place across c.70 Sections, this year's academic programme covers the breadth of political science, creating the platform for lively discussion, exchange of ideas and the best thinking in the discipline.