Title Under construction : making homeland security at the local level / Kerry B. Fosher

Published Chicago : University of Chicago Press, ©2009

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Description 1 online resource (xxiv, 260 pages) : illustrations Contents Positions -- Context : policy and geography -- Muddling through : methods, ethics, and writing -- Finding the community -- A brief introduction to homeland security work -- Daily tasks -- Conceptualizing security -- Maintaining flexibility : how the work gets done -- Opportunities and problems : final comments Summary In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, security became the paramount concern of virtually everyone involved in governing the United States. While the public's most enduring memories of that time involved the actions of the Bush administration or Congress, the day-to-day reality of homeland security was worked out at the local level. Kerry B. Fosher, having begun an anthropological study of counterterrorism in Boston a few months prior to the attacks, thus found herself in a unique position to observe the formation of an immensely important area of government practice. Under Construction goes behind the headlines and beyond official policy to describe the human activities, emotions, relationships, and decisions that shaped the way most Americans experienced homeland security. Fosher's two years of fieldwork focused on how responders and planners actually worked, illuminating the unofficial strategies that allowed them to resolve conflicts and get things done in the absence of a functioning bureaucracy. Given her unprecedented access, Fosher's account is an exceptional opportunity to see how seemingly monolithic institutions are constructed, maintained, and potentially transformed by a community of people Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-252) and index Notes Print version record Subject Civil defense -- Government policy -- Massachusetts -- Boston Local government -- Massachusetts -- Boston Civil defense -- Government policy -- United States Terrorism -- Social aspects -- United States Terrorism -- United States -- Prevention National security -- United States. NATURE -- Natural Disasters. SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Disasters & Disaster Relief. Local government National security Terrorism -- Prevention Terrorism -- Social aspects Innere Sicherheit Terrorismus Bekämpfung Massachusetts -- Boston United States USA Form Electronic book LC no. 2008018266 ISBN 9780226257457 0226257452 9780226257433 0226257436 9780226257440 0226257444

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