Torture and Its Definition in International Law

An Interdisciplinary Approach
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-0-19-937462-5
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 576 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 863 g

This book presents an interdisciplinary approach to definition of torture by bringing together behavioral science and international law perspectives on torture. It is a collaborative effort by a group of prominent scholars of behavioral sciences, international law, human rights, and public health with internationally recognized expertise and authority in their field. It represents a first ever attempt to explore the scientific basis of legal understanding of torture and inform international law on various definitional issues by proposing a sound theory- and empirical-evidence-based psychological formulation of torture. Drawing on scientific evidence from the editor's 30 years of systematic research on torture, it proposes a learning theory formulation of torture based on the concept of helplessness under the control of others and offers an assessment methodology that can reduce the element of subjectivity in legal judgments in individual cases. It also demonstrates how this formulation can help understand the nature and severity of ill-treatments in different contexts, such as domestic violence and adverse conditions of penal confinement. Through a learning theory analysis of "enhanced interrogation techniques," it demonstrates not only why these techniques constitute torture but also how they help us understand the contextual defining characteristic of torture in general. The proposed formulation implies a broader concept of torture than previously understood, provides scientific and moral justification for the evolving trends in international law towards a broader coverage of ill-treatments in contexts beyond official custody and points to new directions of expansion of the concept. With a focus on the concepts of shame and humiliation and their evolutionary origin, the book explains why inhuman or degrading treatments can cause as much pain or suffering as physical torture. Although treatment issues are not covered, the book sheds light on potentially effective treatment approaches by offering important insights into psychology of torture.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Basoglu, Metin

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Ethische Themen & Debatten
• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Medizinische Ethik
• Rechtswissenschaften Internationales Recht und Europarecht Internationales Recht
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Gewalt und Diskriminierung: Soziale Aspekte
• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Psychotherapie / Klinische Psychologie
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Soziologie von Migranten und Minderheiten
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- PART I: Behavioral Science Perspectives

- 1. A Theory- and Evidence-Based Approach to the Definition of Torture

- Metin Basoglu

- 2. Control as a Defining Characteristic of Torture: A Learning Theory Analysis of the Kubark Interrogation Manual

- Hernán Reyes and Metin Basoglu

- 3. A Battle for Control: Resisting Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment at Guantánamo

- K. Alexa Koenig

- 4. An Evolutionary Approach to Humiliation and Shame Induced by Inhuman and Degrading Treatment

- Kaj Björkqvist

- 5. Domestic Violence and Torture: A Theoretical and Empirical Comparison

- Ebru Salcioglu and Metin Basoglu

- 6. Contexts of Ill Treatment: The Relationship of Captivity and Prison Confinement to Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment and Torture

- Craig Haney and Shirin Bakhshay

- 7. The Meaning of Psychological Trauma

- Richard J. Mcnally

- PART II: International Law Perspectives

- 8. Evolving Standards for Torture in International Law

- Juan E. Méndez and Andra Nicolescu

- 9. The United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment: The absolute Prohibition and the Obligation to Prevent

- Nora Sveaass

- 10. Making Human Rights Sense of the Torture Definition

- Yuval Ginbar

- 11. The Gendered Dimensions of Torture: Rape and Other Forms of Gender- Based Violence as Torture Under International Law

- Lisa Davis

- PART III: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: Definitional Issues

- 12. The Cumulative Effect: A Medicolegal Approach to US Torture Law and Policy

- Eric Stover, K. Alexa Koenig, and Laurel E. Fletcher

- 13. Definition of Torture in US Law: Does It Provide Legal Cover for Enhanced Interrogation Techniques?

- Metin Basoglu

- 14. Powerlessness as a Defining Characteristic of Torture: Comments on Basoglus Definition of Torture in US Law

- Manfred Nowak

- 15. From Complicity to Impunity: Medical Participation and the Definition of Torture at the Central Intelligence Agency

- Leonard S. Rubenstein

- PART IV: Discussion and Conclusions

- 16. Discussion and Conclusions

- Metin Basoglu

Über Autor(innen)

Metin Basoglu, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, is founder and currently co-Director of the Istanbul Center for Behavior Research and Therapy (DABATEM) in Turkey. He has conducted extensive research on war, torture, and earthquake trauma and treatment of survivors. He is internationally recognized as one of the most prominent authorities in his field.