News

"Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events" now in paperback edition

By Adam Molnar March 2, 2012

We are pleased to announce the release of the paperback edition of Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events. Information on the book, contributors, as well as purchasing options are available on Routledge's website.

Book Description: Security Games: Surveillance and Control at Mega-Events addresses the impact of mega-events – such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup – on wider practices of security and surveillance. "Mega-Events" pose peculiar and extensive security challenges. The overwhelming imperative is that "nothing should go wrong." There are, however, an almost infinite number of things that can "go wrong"; producing the perceived need for pre-emptive risk assessments, and an expanding range of security measures, including extensive forms and levels of surveillance. These measures are delivered by a "security/industrial complex" consisting of powerful transnational corporate, governmental and military actors, eager to showcase the latest technologies and prove that they can deliver "spectacular levels of security". Read more +

The Olympic Divide: from Torino to London

By Adam Molnar January 13, 2012

It has recently come to light that several individuals involved in the UK riots of 2011 registered resentment regarding the costly preparations for the upcoming London 2012 Olympics as a motivating factor in their unrest. In a study of the causes of the English riots conducted by the Guardian News and the London School of Economics (LSE), researchers found that disparities in public spending on the Olympics are providing fuel for social unrest in poorer neighbourhoods. The high costs of hosting the Olympics, and the related backlash from young communities who are enduring increasing levels of poverty and unemployment just might prove to be one of the most significant security challenges for Olympic officials who are worried about a repeat of the UK riots during the largest cultural event in the world.  Read more +

CfP on Security & Surveillance at Sport Mega-Events (RGS-IBG Annual International Conference, July 3-5 2012)

By Adam Molnar November 22, 2011

RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 3 to 5 July 2012, University of Edinburgh (Conference theme: geography of security/security of geography)

Special Session on: Security & Surveillance at (Sport) Mega-Events

Convened by Pete Fussey, University of Essex (UK), and Francisco Klauser, University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland).

Security issues weigh heavily on the successful staging of (sport) mega-events. With two of the most globally coveted sport happenings forthcoming in 2012 - the London Olympics and the European Football Championship in Poland and Ukraine - there is a substantial need for critical enquiry into the functioning, interests and wider urban implications of security governance at sport mega-events.

The session seeks to assess the current state of research and expertise in security & surveillance issues surrounding (sport) mega-events. We welcome submissions on any aspect of this broad area, but would particularly encourage papers on:

- Anti-Terror legacies and human-rights issues

- Urban policy mobilities in the field of mega-event security Read more +

Special Issue of Urban Studies 48(15) on "Security and Surveillance at Sport Mega Events", November 2011

By Adam Molnar November 7, 2011


Urban Studies Special Issue 48(15)Friends of the Security Games web project will be pleased to know that a special issue of Urban Studies on "Security and Surveillance at Sports Mega-Events", has just been released. Edited by Richard Giulianotti and Francisco Klauser, the volume features eleven articles addressing four main streams of research focusing on a range of empirical and theoretical concerns associated with urban-centred security governance.  

The collection draws together a series of articles on the relation between urban regeneration / gentrification processes and security issues synonymous with the transformations of global cities common to hosting major sporting events. It is at the nexus of urban development and security governance that many papers in the collection reflect on a range of ways that mega-events have become important catalysts in wider socio-economic, urban, political transformations. Read more +

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