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FROM FICTION TO SECURITY RISK | WHEN FICTION PREDICTS SECURITY RISKS | SECURITY PROSPECT AND ROMANTIC ANTICIPATION |
In 1998 schrijft from French author Maud Tabchnik in “The circles of hell”, about an imaginary Islamic millionaire who wants to create chaos in the decadent and non-Islamic democracies with his terrorist organization. Two years earlier, Tom Clancy sold millions of copies of his book “Stay of Execution,” in which a Japanese kamikaze crashes a jumbo jet into the Capitol in Washington. | In 1998, the French author Maud Tabachnik imagined in her novel « The circles of hell », an Islamic billionaire at the centre of a worldwide organisation of terrorists whose sole aim was to reap havoc in decadent non-Islamic democracies. Two years earlier, the American novelist Tom Clancy had sold millions of copies of his thriller « Executive orders », where a Japanese kamikaze crashes a jumbo jet into the Capitol Building in Washington. | In 1998, French author Maud Tabachnik imagines in her novel “The Circles of Hell” a Muslim millionaire at the heart of a global terrorist organization whose sole purpose is to sow chaos in decadent non-Muslim democracies. Two years before, American novelist Tom Clancy sells millions of copies of his thriller “On Order”, in which a Japanese suicide bomber crashes a plane into the Capitol in Washington. |
“The Fall of a Fundamentalist” (Mohsin Hamid), published in 2007 (VS), describes how a perfectly integrated Pakistani citizen becomes a terrorist. Two years later, Major Nidal Hassan kills thirteen people at an American base. Three years later, op 1 mei 2010, American-Pakistani Faisal Shahzad tries to explode a car near Times Square in New York. | Published in 2007 in the USA, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” described the transformation of a totally integrated Pakistani into a terrorist. Two years later, Major Nidal Hasan killed 13 people on an American base, and on 1st May 2010, Faisal Shahzad, from American-Pakistani origin, tried to detonate a car near Time Square. | Published in the USA in 2007, « The Reluctant Fundamentalist » described the transformation of a Pakistani perfectly integrated into the USA into a terrorist. Two years later, Commander Nidal Hasan killed 13 people on an American base and May 1 2010 Faisal Shahzad, a Pakistani-American, tried to blow up a car near Time Square. |
Can predictions in the literature influence the assessment of future safety risks? ? | Could novelistic anticipation play a role in the security foresight processes? | Can romantic anticipation find its place in security foresight? ? |
The answer depends on the choice of method: inductive or deductive. | One answer lies in the choice of the method: inductive or deductive. | One answer lies in the choice of method : inductive or deductive. |
Experience does not always guarantee correct predictions (an example is the miscalculation of Israeli services during the Yom Kippur War), but creativity is essential for a hypothetico-deductive approach. | Experience does not ensure the validity of the forecasts (miscalculation by Israeli intelligence – Yom Kippur War), but creativity is vital for the hypothetico-deductive approach. | Experience does not guarantee the validity of predictions (the Israeli intelligence assessment error – Yom Kippur War) but inventiveness is essential to the hypothetico-deductive approach. |
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