The Phenomenon of Torture

by Schulz, William F.

• ISBN13: 9780812219821
• ISBN10: 0812219821
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-15
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Torture is the most widespread human rights crime in the modern world, practiced in more than one hundred countries, including the United States. How could something so brutal, almost unthinkable, be so prevalent? The Phenomenon of Torture: Readings and Commentary is designed to answer that question and many others. Beginning with a sweeping view of torture in Western history, the book examines questions such as these: Can anyone be turned into a torturer? What exactly is the psychological relationship between a torturer and his victim? Are certain societies more prone to use torture? Are there any circumstances under which torture is justified--to procure critical information in order to save innocent lives, for example? How can torture be stopped or at least its incidence be reduced?Edited and with an introduction by the former Executive Director of Amnesty International USA, The Phenomenon of Torture draws on the writings of torture victims themselves, such as the Argentinian journalist Jacobo Timerman, as well as leading scholars like Elaine Scarry, author of The Body in Pain. It includes classical works by Voltaire, Jeremy Bentham, Hannah Arendt, and Stanley Milgram, as well as recent works by historian Adam Hochschild and psychotherapist Joan Golston. And it addresses new developments in efforts to combat torture, such as the designation of rape as a war crime and the use of the doctrine of universal jurisdiction to prosecute perpetrators. Designed for the student and scholar alike, it is, in sum, an anthology of the best and most insightful writing about this most curious and common form of abuse. Juan E. Méndez, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide and himself a victim of torture, provides a foreword.

Author Biography

William F. Schulz served as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA from 1994 to 2006. He is currently Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, and Adjunct Professor at the New School in New York City. Schulz is the author of two books on human rights, In Our Own Best Interest: How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All and Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Torture in Western History
Torture and Truth	p. 13
The Torture of Jesus	p. 16
Torture and the Law of Proof	p. 19
Torture	p. 27
Discipline and Punish	p. 30
"An Essay on Crimes and Punishments"	p. 34
"On Torture and Capital Punishment"	p. 36
Preventing Torture	p. 38
Being Tortured
The Railway Man	p. 49
And Night Fell	p. 53
Statement by Abu Ghraib detainee	p. 60
The Gulag Archipelago	p. 63
A Miracle, a Universe	p. 66
The Method	p. 71
"Torture"	p. 80
Against Our Will	p. 88
Report Uzbekistan	p. 95
Prison of Women	p. 97
Who Are the Torturers?
King Leopold's Ghost	p. 101
"The Torturer's Tale"	p. 104
"The Perils of Obedience"	p. 110
"The Official Torturer"	p. 120
"Ritual Abuse"	p. 124
Hidden Terrors	p. 127
The Winter Soldier Investigation	p. 132
"Torture"	p. 134
"The Torturers' Notebooks"	p. 136
The Battle of the Casbah	p. 137
The Wretched of the Earth	p. 139
"In Their Own Words"	p. 141
The Dynamics of Torture
Human Resource Exploitation Training Manual	p. 155
The Politics of Cruelty	p. 163
Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number	p. 167
The Body in Pain	p. 172
"What's Wrong with Torture"	p. 178
"Intimate Terror"	p. 180
The Social Context of Torture
Torture	p. 195
The Origins of Totalitarianism	p. 196
Republic of Fear	p. 201
"The Psychology and Culture of Torture and Torturers"	p. 204
"How to Make a Torturer"	p. 210
Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People	p. 215
The Ethics of Torture
"Of Torture"	p. 221
"The Case for Torture"	p. 227
"Kidnapping Has Germans Debating Police Torture"	p. 230
Why Terrorism Works	p. 233
"Torture"	p. 241
"Suggestions for Japanese Interpreters"	p. 249
"Does Torture Work?"	p. 255
Tainted Legacy	p. 260
Landau Commission Report	p. 267
Supreme Court of Israel Judgment	p. 275
Healing the Victims, Stopping the Torture
"Treatment of Victims of Torture"	p. 285
"Police Officers Convicted of Torturing Man in Detention"	p. 297
"Torture Spoken Here"	p. 299
Aydin v. Turkey	p. 304
International Criminal Court Q & A Sheet	p. 308
"An End to Impunity"	p. 311
"The Case of General Pinochet"	p. 314
Filartiga v. Pena-Irala	p. 325
"The Contribution of Truth Commissions"	p. 333
"Human Rights Education for the Police"	p. 347
Excerpts from Documents	p. 357
Un Convention against Torture	p. 357
International Standards Against Torture	p. 360
U.S. Army Field Manual	p. 363
How to Get Involved	p. 365
Notes	p. 367
Bibliography	p. 377
Acknowledgments	p. 381
Credits and Permissions	p. 383
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