Calling Out the Troops: the Australian Military and Civil Unrest: the Legal and Constitutional Issues

This book raises a number of significant issues that have received little official, parliamentary and media attention, and are virtually unknown to ordinary people. Many of the measures examined in this volume were adopted in the context of the post-2001 ‘war on terrorism’. However, it would be incorrect to assume that the military callout power will be confined to that scenario. Indeed, there are indications of a shift, with the election of the Rudd government and the Obama Administration, to broaden the concept of ‘security’. Instead of terrorism, economic and political instability is becoming the primary focus of concern. If national security requires protecting ‘economic stability’ and combatting ‘social unrest and political instability’, then the scope for domestic military intervention may be very wide.