Making Digital Surveillance Unacceptable? Security, Democracy, and the Political Sociology of Disputes

Abstract Despite extensive criticisms of mass surveillance and mobilization by civil liberties digital rights activists, has paradoxically been extended legalized in the name security. How do some democratic claims against appear to be normal common-sense, whereas others are deemed unacceptable, even outlandish? Instead starting from particular “logics” either security or democracy, this paper proposes develop a political sociology disputes trace how relation between democracy is shaped critique practice. Disputes entail demands for justification. They allow us account constraints which govern whether an argument acceptable improper; common-sensical peculiar. We mobilize conjunction with Arjun Appadurai's reflections on “small numbers” democracies order understand justifications enact “rise generality,” critiques that “descent into singularity.” To purpose, we analyze public mobilizations challenges brought before European Court Human Rights (ECtHR). draw interviews range actors involved disputes, parties’ submissions, oral hearings, judgments, reports.