Topic
Torture
About: Torture is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8173 publications have been published within this topic receiving 109895 citations.
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TL;DR: The authors examined the Abu Ghraib prison scandal from the perspective of cultural criminology and argued that these images, along with supporting documents, constitute the photographic record of a crime committed by the capitalist state.
Abstract: This article examines the Abu Ghraib prison scandal from the perspective of cultural criminology. Several points are made about the iconic images of abuse. First, it is argued that these images, along with supporting documents, constitute the photographic record of a crime committed by the capitalist state. This was the high crime of torture. Next the images are used to examine the efficacy of various explanations for the Abu Ghraib scandal. These include the US Government's theory that the abuse was perpetrated by a small group of 'bad apples' within its military police units; Zimbardo's 'automatic brutality' theory of prisoner abuse which suggests that we are all latent torturers; and McCoy's theory that the most sophisticated interrogation practices at Abu Ghraib were designed and executed by the US Central Intelligence Agency, with military police in a supporting role. The weight of evidence supports McCoy's theory, thereby lending credibility to the argument that the torturing of detainees at Abu Ghraib followed directly from decisions made by top government officials, from President George W. Bush on down, to 'take off the gloves' in prisoner interrogations.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, cognitive dissonance and moral typecasting are used to characterize the relationship between torture and blame for those close to the torture, while typecasting might characterize this relationship for those more distant from it.
34 citations
TL;DR: Men, Militarism & UN Peacekeeping: A Gendered Analysis as mentioned in this paper provides a critical feminist analysis of a UN peacekeeping system that not only fails to protect civilian populations but is also implicated in the spread of HIV/AIDS and in the torture, murder, sexual assault and enslavement, and human trafficking of the very populations the mission was purportedly sent to assist.
Abstract: Men, Militarism & UN Peacekeeping: A Gendered Analysis. By Sandra Whitworth. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner. 2004. 225 pp. $49.95.Armed conflict, torture, murder, sexual assault, sexual enslavement, human trafficking and HIV/AIDS—United Nations peacekeepers are sent into conflict-torn countries to help prevent the further spread of these horrors. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan often highlights these brutalities when he publicly calls upon member states to send troops and resources to protect and assist vulnerable populations in conflict zones. In her most recent book, Men, Militarism & UN Peacekeeping, Sandra Whitworth provides a critical feminist analysis of a UN peacekeeping system that not only is failing to protect civilian populations but is also implicated in the spread of HIV/AIDS and in the torture, murder, sexual assault and enslavement, and human trafficking of the very populations the mission was purportedly sent to assist. Throughout, Whitworth uses sharp critical feminist analyses to help us understand why UN peacekeeping missions have too often become sites of violence and abuse.
34 citations
01 Jun 2017
TL;DR: In this article, the Ethics of Unarmed Conflict illuminates this neglected aspect of international conflict, including cyber-warfare and economic sanctions, media warfare, and propaganda, as well as non-violent resistance as it plays out in civil disobedience, boycotts, and lawfare.
Abstract: Just war theory focuses primarily on bodily harm, such as killing, maiming, and torture, while other harms are often largely overlooked. At the same time, contemporary international conflicts increasingly involve the use of unarmed tactics, employing 'softer' alternatives or supplements to kinetic power that have not been sufficiently addressed by the ethics of war or international law. Soft war tactics include cyber-warfare and economic sanctions, media warfare, and propaganda, as well as non-violent resistance as it plays out in civil disobedience, boycotts, and 'lawfare.' While the just war tradition has much to say about 'hard' war - bullets, bombs, and bayonets - it is virtually silent on the subject of 'soft' war. Soft War: The Ethics of Unarmed Conflict illuminates this neglected aspect of international conflict.
34 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The need to determine the meaning of human rights standards is a constant dilemma: a dilemma that is heightened by the absence of an authoritative adjudicative body to bind states parties to a particular interpretation of each human right as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Human rights protected in international treaties are invariably vague and ambiguous. This ambiguity is most acute with respect to economic, social and cultural rights. The rights to health, housing, and education are not standards that have traditionally been renowned for their clarity of content. But even civil and political rights, which have a significantly longer jurisprudential ancestry, are often indeterminate. For example, the precise scope of the prohibition against torture is continuously shifting, and the parameters of the right to a fair trial remain contentious. Thus, the need to determine the meaning of human rights standards is a constant dilemma: a dilemma that is heightened by the absence of an authoritative adjudicative body to bind states parties to a particular interpretation of each human right.
34 citations