No pain, no gain? Torture and ethics in the war on terror
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3683906 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alex J Bellamy (0000-0003-2490-4613, The University of Queensland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2006 |
| Volume | 82 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 121-148 |
| Publication date | 2006-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00518.x |
| OpenAlex | W2008496781 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 16 |
| References cited | 8 |
Is the use of torture ever justified? This article argues that torture cannot be justified, even in so called ticking bomb cases, but that in such extreme situations it may be necessary. In those situations, judgements about whether the use of torture is legitimate must balance the imminence and gravity of the threat with the need to prevent future occurrences of torture and maintain a normative environment that is hostile to its use. The article begins by observing that the use of torture and/or cruel and degrading treatment has become a core component of the global war on terror. It tests the claim that the use of coercive interrogation techniques does not constitute torture, showing that similar arguments were levelled by both the British and French governments in relation to Northern Ireland and Algeria respectively and found wanting. It then evaluates and rejects Dershowitz's claim for the legalization of torture and the more limited claim that torture may be permissible in ticking bomb scenarios. In the final section, the article questions how we might maintain the prohibition on torture while acknowledging that it may be necessary in some hypothetical cases
Criminology · Human rights · Interrogation · Legalization · Normative · Political science · Torture · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Psychology · Torture, Ethics, and Law
The Ethics of Security Research
La fabrique de la torture en contexte démocratique
Conducting effective research into state complicity in human rights abuses
Dirty Hands, Clean Conscience? The CIA Inspector General's Investigation of “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” in the War on Terror and the Torture Debate
Spectatorship and the War on Terror
A Reply to My Critics
Dirty Hands and Lesser Evils in the War on Terror
The Spaces and Faces of Critical Terrorism Studies
Fracturing the “Exception”
Norm Regress
Dual Loyalty of Physicians in the Military and in Civilian Life
The lawyers’ war
Terrorist Suspect Religious Identity and Public Support for Harsh Interrogation and Detention Practices
Risky dis/entanglements
The Lawyers' War
Parents of foreign "terrorist" fighters in Syria - will they report their young
| Unique citing works | 16 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.84 |
| Citation span | 2007 - 2022 (16) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 16 |