He has read more widely in more disciplines than any analyst of torture that I know of." Devastating." The Body in Pain: The Making and Unmaking of the World, Transnational Torture: Law, Violence, and State Power in the United States and India, The Torture Letters: Reckoning with Police Violence, The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse, "An exhaustive study of...'clean tortures,' or tortures that leave no permanent scars. But none compare to Torture and Democracy for its richly detailed comparative analysis, and its synthesis of historical, psychological, medical, forensic, sociological, and political information to explain what torture is, what it does to victims and perpetrators, and why and how it spreads. 45-64) As a matter of historical record, torture has characterized democratic as well as authoritarian states. Rejali's scholarship is impeccable and Torture and Democracy is a must have for anyone who wishes to understand the history, causes and meanings of torture. A brave and disturbing book, this is the benchmark against which all future studies of modern torture will be measured. " Torture and Democracy by Darius Rejali is arguably the most impressive and most important book to be published on torture in the past few years. He has convincingly shown, with actual data and analysis, that torture is ineffective for intelligence gathering simply because it produces an avalanche of disinformation, making it almost impossible to separate any real intelligence from false leads. The research that went into this book is beyond impressive; it is thorough beyond belief. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. "—Edward Peters, author of Torture, "This is a timely and extraordinarily important book, an unprecedented study of torture and its technologies, and of the relationship between torture and types of political systems. Princeton University Press (June 28, 2009), Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2009. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. It should be read and disseminated widely...The book is devoted to exploding one myth in particular: that clean tortures can casually and reliably be traced to the ancients, or, failing that, to the Nazis. "—Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, "Darius Rejali has given the world an extraordinary work of scholarship and personal passion that no one wants to hear about but that everyone must learn about. Long before the CIA even existed, police and soldiers turned instead to “clean” techniques, such as torture by electricity, ice, water, noise, drugs, and stress positions. This shopping feature will continue to load items when the Enter key is pressed. What is torture… Under the watchful eyes of reporters and human rights activists, low-level authorities in the world’s oldest democracies were the first to learn that to scar a victim was to advertise iniquity and invite scandal. (In short, in democracies, human rights organizations and laws against torture have driven interrogators to use methods less prone to leaving evidence behind while totalitarian governments use physical scarring to terrify their targets. professor of political science at Reed College and author of the new book Torture and Democracy. Very worthwhile, and a great achievement. There was a problem loading your book clubs. It should be read and disseminated widely...The book is devoted to exploding one myth in particular: that clean tortures can casually and reliably be traced to the ancients, or, failing that, to the Nazis. --Edward Peters, author of Torture, "This is a timely and extraordinarily important book, an unprecedented study of torture and its technologies, and of the relationship between torture and types of political systems. By far the best and most thorough book I've read on the subject, Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2014, This book has made for one of the longest and most difficult reads I've ever gone through, but Darius Rejali has really pulled off an incredible feat here. "—Martha Huggins, Tulane University, "Torture and Democracy is a provocative, state-of-the-art consideration of what Rejali calls 'stealth' or 'clean' torture. Yet it is its apparent obviousness that makes the topic all the more urgent. He makes a powerful case that democracies tend to be laboratories for these forms of torture and that one of the unintended consequences of democratization is that torture, rather than being eliminated, becomes harder to identify and document." The book is a towering achievement, a serious work of social science on an urgent topic that is too frequently surrounded by assumption and myth. Rejali has earned the right to speak authoritatively about the most important question of all: Does torture work? His other books include Torture and Modernity: Self, Society and State in Modern Iran. Beyond platitudes, this pioneering expert descends into the torture dungeons around the world to reveal the strategies and tactics secretly used to break human will to resist. Introduction -- Modern torture and its observers -- Torture and democracy -- Lights, heat, and sweat -- Whips and water -- Bathtubs -- Shock -- Magnetos -- Currents -- Singing the world electric -- Prods, tasers, and stun guns -- Stun city -- Sticks and bones -- Water, sleep, and spice -- Stress and duress -- Forced standing and other positions -- Fists and exercises -- Old and new restraints -- Noise -- Drugs … Darius Rejali, in his painstakingly researched book "Torture and Democracy," has investigated the records of numerous countries that conducted torture throughout the 20th century, including France during the Algerian uprising and the Germans during WWII. Rejali makes this troubling case in fluid, arresting prose and on the basis of unprecedented research — conducted in multiple languages and on several continents — begun years before most of us had ever heard of Osama bin Laden or Abu Ghraib. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. Torture and Democracy If there was ever any doubt, it is now clear that the torture at Abu Ghraib cannot be dismissed as the actions of a few bad actors. "—Richard Jackson, Critical Studies on Terrorism, "A brave and disturbing book, this is the benchmark against which all future studies of modern torture will be measured. Do they have supporting data to back up this assertion, or is it just a gut feeling? Rejali's provocative thesis is that most clean tortures were actually born in democracies, especially imperial Britain and France.". Rejali regales us with tales of every technique of torture known to man...Rejali's analysis of efficacy is exemplary: at once prudent and trenchant, historically alert and morally sentient. Darius Rejali professor of political science at Reed College and author of the new book, Torture and Democracy. Why are so many people, including high ranking people who should know better, so convinced that torture "works," and that it provides reliable intelligence? . To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. . --Philip Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, "Monumental. United Kingdom 2 Torture and Democracy (pp. This book is titled Torture And Democracy by Darius Rejali! Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 27, 2015. Directions, Princeton Asia (Beijing) Consulting Co., Ltd. Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Winner of the 2009 Lemkin Award, Institute for the Study of Genocide, Winner of the 2008 Best Book, Human Rights Section of the American Political Science Association. It is the best book on the subject that I have encountered. Much as most people would not wish to read such a book as this, I feel it should be studied widely and in depth. The author of a major study of Iranian torture, Rejali also tackles the controversial question of whether torture really works, answering the new apologists for torture point by point. A depressing although valuable book that shows how "clean" torture techniques--those that don't leave visible scars or physically incapacitate the victim--have been the hallmark of torturers in the military and police forces in democratic nations. Directions. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. "—Philip Zimbardo, author of The Lucifer Effect: Understanding How Good People Turn Evil, "Monumental. Over the years we have learned how to provide students with cheap prices on high quality books and fast shipping. Torture and Democracy is that kind of book. . After viewing product detail pages, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in. "—Karen J. Greenberg, Financial Times, "Dozens of books about torture have been published over the last five years. Electrotorture, water tortures, stress and duress positions, beating, noise, drugs and forced exercises all make an appearance. "—Sidney Blumenthal, "Torture and Democracy brings the fact of torture straight home to democratic societies—societies that are the most reluctant to acknowledge the presence of torture in their midst. Long before the CIA even existed, police and soldiers turned instead to "clean" techniques, such as torture by electricity, ice, water, noise, drugs, and stress positions. "—Lisa Hajjar, Arab Studies Journal, "Torture and Democracy, the fruit of a lifetime's study should dispel much ignorance and frequently facile assumptions about the subject. Details about Torture and Democracy: This is the most comprehensive, and most comprehensively chilling, study of modern torture yet written. Dictatorships may have tortured more, and more indiscriminately, but the United States, Britain, and France pioneered and exported techniques that have become the lingua franca of modern torture: methods that leave no marks. The idea that "democracy" can be defended in this way is absolutely appalling. "—David Bentley, World Today, "Darius Rejali's Torture and Democracy, a decade in the making, will be the canonical source text for information on, and the historical confirmation of, the democratic pedigree of tortures that leave no mark. There's a problem loading this menu right now. The book is a towering achievement, a serious work of social science on an urgent topic that is too frequently surrounded by assumption and myth. "—Scott Horton, Harper's Magazine, "An exhaustive study of...'clean tortures,' or tortures that leave no permanent scars. Darius Rejali’s Democracy and Torture is an exhaustively researched book on the history of torture in democratic societies. Long before the CIA even existed, police and soldiers turned instead to "clean" techniques, such as torture by electricity, ice, water, noise, drugs, and stress positions. The consequences of torture are always unpredictable and Rejali argues that torture fails when it's needed most—in last-minute, ticking bomb scenarios. It takes the reader from the late nineteenth century to the aftermath of Abu Ghraib. Electrotorture, water tortures, stress and duress positions, beating, noise, drugs and forced exercises all make an appearance. On torture, this is it...Torture and Democracy is the anatomy of sneaky. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Simply stated, it is the definitive study on this topic. Rejali's research has been truly formidable. . "—Michael McGregor, The Oregonian, "[Creates] what essentially amounts to an epidemiology of torture. He has read more widely in more disciplines than any analyst of torture that I know of. He makes a powerful case that democracies tend to be laboratories for these forms of torture and that one of the unintended consequences of democratization is that torture, rather than being eliminated, becomes harder to identify and document. torture and democracy Nov 04, 2020 Posted By Arthur Hailey Library TEXT ID f217f9c3 Online PDF Ebook Epub Library Torture And Democracy INTRODUCTION : #1 Torture And Democracy ~~ Free PDF Torture And Democracy ~~ Uploaded By Arthur Hailey, torture and democracy is a much needed attempt to put our discussions on a firmer historical and --Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, "Darius Rejali has given the world an extraordinary work of scholarship and personal passion that no one wants to hear about but that everyone must learn about. I started reading the Gestapo chapters for my book research, but the sections on recent decades blew me away. 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