State Torture: Interviewing Perpetrators, Discovering Facilitators, Theorizing Cross-Nationally— Proposing &quot;Torture 101&quot;

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State Crime Journal

Volume 1, Issue 1

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State Torture: Interviewing Perpetrators, Discovering Facilitators, Theorizing Cross-Nationally— Proposing "Torture 101"

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Author(s): Martha K. Huggins ¹

Publication date (Print, pub): 1 April 2012

Journal: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: Abu Ghraib; authoritarian; boundary-spanning; Brazil; bureaucracy; bystander; democracy; facilitator; Guantanamo; perpetrator; state; state torture; torture system geography; United States

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Abstract

This article's first theoretical proposition, that modern state torture systems contain four types of actors - perpetrators, facilitators, bureaucratic organizations, and bystanders - is followed by four additional propositions that link torture facilitation and bureaucracy to state torture system geography: (1) While facilitators span systemic boundaries - lending legitimacy, procuring resources, and managing protection - most torture perpetrators operate within the boundaries of their encapsulating micro systems. (2) Some torture facilitators traverse their own nation-state's government and non-government bureaucracies, while others cross national boundaries. (3) Torture system actors operate from a legitimized position within normal bureaucratic organizations; they are not extra-systemic "deviant" outsiders and their torturing does not result from an atypical organizational "break down". (4) Some torture facilitators - such as "private" military contract corporations - mediate between formal national and international bureaucracies and a privatized "terra incognita" - a "nether world" simultaneously inside and outside government and state. Such propositions emerged in spite of numerous data collection challenges, with secrecy and data validity ongoing stumbling-blocks to research. Power imbalances between researcher and researched enhanced outcomes in interviews with Brazilian torturers, while inhibiting obtaining information on torture by nation-states. An outcome of comparing torture by authoritarian Brazil (1964-85) and by post-"9/11" US at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo is "Torture 101" - a model that replaces "bad apple" and "broken bureaucracy" explanations for torture, with ten structural variables associated with systematic torture by modern states. It is recommended that since modern torture systems are global, those who study modern state torture must traverse states and theorize globally.

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Journal

Journal ID (jstor): statecrime

Journal ID (doi): 10.2307/j50005552

Title: State Crime Journal

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 20466056

Publication date (Print, pub): 1 April 2012

Volume: 1

Issue: 1

Pages: 45-69

Affiliations

[1 ] Tulane University;

Article

DOI: 10.2307/41917770

SO-VID: 7c996cdc-d305-41b1-9976-755c0da42f24

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History

Notes

Smith (1971)
Leigh Payne (2007)
Huggins and Glebbeek (2008)
Guaracy Mingardi (1991), UN (2001).
LeO (c.2009).
Campbell and Norton-Taylor 2008; HRW 2007; ACLU 2005; AI 2006; Globalsecurity.org 2006; NYT 2005; Talkleft.com 2007
ACLU 2007.
WT 2004 http://www.basicint.org/pubs/ Research/2004PMCapp3.pdf
Bloche and Marks 2005; ICRC 2007; Kater 1989; Kelman 2005; Miles 2004; Thieren 2007 CP 2006; Goodman 2008 ACLU 2005 c.2010; NYT 2005; WP 2004
US private military contractors at Abu Ghraib, see: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/ Research/2004PMCapp3.pdf
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU c.2010).
Huggins (2004, 2011); Huggins (2005).
Navaro (n.d.).
Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Memos
Scherer and Ghosh (2009)
Huggins (1998), Huggins et al. (2002).
Huggins, forthcoming 2012

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Smith (1971)

[2] Leigh Payne (2007)

[3] Huggins and Glebbeek (2008)

[4] Guaracy Mingardi (1991), UN (2001).

[5] LeO (c.2009).

[6] Campbell and Norton-Taylor 2008; HRW 2007; ACLU 2005; AI 2006; Globalsecurity.org 2006; NYT 2005; Talkleft.com 2007

[7] ACLU 2007.

[8] WT 2004 http://www.basicint.org/pubs/ Research/2004PMCapp3.pdf

[9] Bloche and Marks 2005; ICRC 2007; Kater 1989; Kelman 2005; Miles 2004; Thieren 2007 CP 2006; Goodman 2008 ACLU 2005 c.2010; NYT 2005; WP 2004

[10] US private military contractors at Abu Ghraib, see: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/ Research/2004PMCapp3.pdf

[11] American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU c.2010).

[12] Huggins (2004, 2011); Huggins (2005).

[13] Navaro (n.d.).

[14] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_Memos

[15] Scherer and Ghosh (2009)

[16] Huggins (1998), Huggins et al. (2002).

[17] Huggins, forthcoming 2012