ABSTRACT
This chapter explores Ulrich Beck's Risk Society theory and considers how the nature of risk has changed in recent years and is affecting the relationship between society and space. The central theme of Beck's work was that society is in a period of 'transition' towards a 'New Modernity' in which the logic of industrial production and distribution based on wealth is becoming increasingly tied to the social production of risk. Beck argued that as industrial society has advanced, a Risk Society emerges which creates hazards of global magnitude. Media publicity is a key factor driving terrorist tactics, and whilst the media do not actively create terrorism, their actions 'may facilitate the strategic success of terrorist groups'. The chapter turns its attention to the actions of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) over the last thirty years, which provided the context for the defensive strategies deployed to protect the City of London.
