Torture and Civilisation

Bibliographic Data

ID4874591
AuthorsAndrew Linklater (0000-0002-9583-722X, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, corresponding author)
Year2007
Volume21
Issue1
Pages111-118
Publication date2007-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Relations (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-1178 • E-ISSN: 1741-2862
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0047117807073771
OpenAlexW2052668437
LanguageEN
Citations received10

The global anti-torture norm has been one of the main examples of a global civilising process. It refl ects modern sensibilities to cruelty and excessive force which were highlighted in Norbert Elias's account of the 'civilising process'. The idea of defending civilisation has also been used to defend torture in the war against terror. Exceptional methods are needed, it has been argued, to protect civilised ways of life. Notions of constitutional or 'civilised torture' have been introduced to try to harmonise these competing views. They have been employed in the attempt to reconcile civilised self-images with the use of excessive force. The future role of torture in the 'war against terror' depends on the interplay between these competing conceptions of the civilising process

Civilization · Criminology · Cruelty · Epistemology · Human rights · Norm (philosophy) · Political science · Sociology · Torture · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Philosophy · Torture, Ethics, and Law

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