Video Surveillance and Social Control in a Comparative Perspective

by Fredrika Björklund (Editor), Ola Svenonius (Editor)

Overview

This edited collection reports the results of a comparative study of video surveillance/CCTV in Germany, Poland, and Sweden. It investigates how video surveillance as technologically mediated social control is affected by national characteristics, with a specific concern for recent political history. The book is motivated by asking what makes video surveillance "tick" in three very different cultural settings, two of which (Poland and Sweden) are virtually unexplored in the literature on surveillance. The selection of countries is motivated by an interest in societies with recent experiences of authoritarianism, and how they respond to the global trend towards intensified technical means of control. With thorough empirical studies, the book constitutes an important contribution to security studies, surveillance studies, and post-communist area studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138920620
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/21/2015
Series:	Routledge Studies in Science, Technology and Society
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Fredrika Björklund is Associate Professor in Political Science at Södertörn University.

Ola Svenonius is a Political Science lecturer at Södertörn University and a PhD candidate at the Baltic and East European Graduate School (BEEGS) and Stockholm University.

Table of Contents

1. Video Surveillance in a Comparative Perspective: Introduction Fredrika Björklund and Ola Svenonius Section I: Comparative Studies 2. Modernisation, Balancing Interests and Citizens’ Rights: Public Video Surveillance in Poland, Germany and Sweden Fredrika Björklund 3. Video Surveillance in a Historical Perspective Ola Svenonius 4. The Protection of Privacy in the Context of Video Surveillance: Towards a European Model? Patricia Jonason Section II: Case Studies 5. Video Surveillance and the Question of Trust Wojciech Szrubka 6. How Effective is the Public Video Surveillance System in Warsaw? Paweł Waszkiewicz 7. From Privacy Protection Towards Affirmative Regulation: The Politics of Police Surveillance in Germany Eric Töpfer 8. Pressure of the Practice: Swedish Public Surveillance in an Institutional Perspective Elfar Loftsson