State Torture

Torture was officially outlawed in France in the 1780s and in Europe during the nineteenth century. In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, it has returned as an instrument of state policy. The defence of torture is no longer viewed with abhorrence. How have languages of patriotism, law and order, justice, the 'civilizing mission', and human rights been used to foster attitudes towards and practices of torture in Western societies? What should our responses be? A lecture by ...