Inclusion and Implementation of the Dynamic Dimension in the Process of Strengthening Resilience of Society: the Case of the London Terrorist Attacks of 2005 and 2017

• Main Author: Gleb V. Kotsur
• Format: Article
• Language: Russian
• Published: Volgograd State University 2018-12-01
• Series: Vestnik Volgogradskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta. Seriâ 4. Istoriâ, Regionovedenie, Meždunarodnye Otnošeniâ
• Subjects: resilience; international terrorism; fight against terror; public security; international security; socio-ecological systems
• Online Access: https://hfrir.jvolsu.com/index.php/en/component/attachments/download/1830
• ISSN: 1998-9938; 2312-8704

Introduction.The ecological notion of resilience has been adopted by different Western theoretical approaches in a wide range of scientific fields from economics to political studies. Canadian ecologist С. Holling defines resilience as a measure of the persistence of systems and of their ability to absorb change and disturbance (dynamic part) and still maintain the same relationships between populations or state variable (static part). The aim of this article is to identify the role of the dynamic dimension in strengthening resilience of British society during the period between the two London terrorist attacks of 2005 and 2017. Methods. The methodology of the paper is based on the discourse analysis of the key British documents on public security and the Internet publications immediately after the tragedy. Considering the theoretical aspect, the author distinguishes ‘the bouncing back’ approach (emphasizing static dimension), ‘complexity’ (dynamic) and ‘adaptive cycles’ being a middle ground. Analysis. Analysis of the key British security documents has shown that the government policy on strengthening resilience failed as it was characterized by an excessive predominance of the static element over the dynamic one. However, during the crisis, the London society managed to respond through specific set of adaptation measures such as grassroots self-organization through social networks, strategies of normalization and the phenomenon of habituation. Results. Results of this paper can be summarized in the following points: D. Chandler’s concept of ‘complexity’ has the significant potential for understanding the effectiveness of counterterrorism strategies and ensuring public security. Russia, also facing the threat of international terrorism, should take into account the negative experience of British colleagues and avoid underestimating the preventive dimension of strengthening resilience.