A genealogy of the torture taboo
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
A genealogy of the torture taboo
（Routledge studies in human rights / series editors, Mark Gibney, Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and Bonny Obhawoh）
Routledge, 2018, c2017
- : pbk
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Note
Includes bibliographical references and index
Contents of Works
- Abolishing torture
- The taboo and the fear of regression
- The Nuremburg trials and the Universal Declaration
- Decolonisation and the UN Convention Against Torture
- The politics of the definition of torture
- Torture and the "War on Terror"
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This book examines the historical genealogy of the torture taboo. The dissonance between the absolute prohibition against torture and its widespread violation raises important questions about the torture taboo in world politics. Does the torture taboo matter? Or are political realists correct in arguing that power politics rules?
Barnes argues that despite the torture taboo's violation, it still matters, and paradoxically, its strength can be seen by studying its violation. States hide, deny, re-define and outsource their torture, as well as torture without leaving marks to avoid being stigmatised as a norm violating state. Tracing a genealogy of the torture taboo from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century Barnes shows how the taboo has developed over time, and how violations have played an important role in that development. Through six historical and contemporary case studies, it is argued that the taboo's humanitarian pressures do not cease when states violate the norm, but continue to shape actors in unexpected ways.
Building upon the constructivist norm literature that has shown how norms shape state actions and interests, the book also widens our understanding of the complex role norm violations play in international society. Making a contribution to existing public debates on the use of torture in counter-terrorism policy, it will be of great use to scholars, postgraduates and practitioners in the fields of human rights, international relations theory (in particular constructivism), security studies and international law.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Abolishing Torture
The Taboo and the Fear of Regression
The Nuremburg Trials and the Universal Declaration
Decolonisation and the UN Convention Against Torture
The Politics of the Definition of Torture
Torture and the "War on Terror"
Conclusion
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