Citation

Miller WL. Br. J. Polit. Int. Relat. 2011; 13(4): 514-533.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, Political Studies Association, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1467-856X.2011.00453.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

'Legal cultures' in European countries have been under the twin pressures of moves towards 'European and international standards' on the one hand, and the 'war on terror' on the other--the first exerting pressure in a liberal direction, the second exerting pressure in an authoritarian direction. Data from focus groups and interviews with the general public and Muslim minorities provide insight into how the public in general, and Muslims in particular, have responded to the pressure of terrorism and the 'war on terror' in a spectrum of five countries ranging across Europe. Muslims have very different attitudes towards paying the price of the so‐called 'war on terror', but our study suggests that attitudes towards that price are directly influenced more by 'risk assessment' than by religion.