Why did it happen? Why did the United States begin to torture detainees during the War on Terror? Instead of an indictment, this book presents an "explanation." Crises produce rare opportunities for overcoming the domestic and foreign policy logjams facing political leaders. But what if the projects used to address the crisis and provide cover for their domestic policy initiatives come under serious threat from clandestine opponents? Then the restraints on interrogation can be overwhelmed, leading to the creation of informal institutions that allow the official establishment of torture. These ideas are tested using comparative historical narratives drawn from two cases where torture was adopted--the War on Terror and the Stalinist Terror--and one where it was not--the Mexican War. The book concludes with some thoughts about how the United States can avoid the legal establishment of torture in the future.

The United States' use of torture and harsh interrogation techniques during the "War on Terror" has sparked fervent debate among citizens and scholars surrounding the human rights of war criminals. Does all force qualify as "necessary and appropriate" in this period of political unrest? Examining Torture brings together some of the best recent scholarship on the incidence of torture in a comparative and international context. The contributors to this volume use both quantitative and qualitative studies to examine the causes and consequences of torture policies and the resulting public opinion. Policy makers as well as scholars and those concerned with human rights will find this collection invaluable.

The United States' use of torture and harsh interrogation techniques during the "War on Terror" has sparked fervent debate among citizens and scholars surrounding the human rights of war criminals. Does all force qualify as "necessary and appropriate" in this period of political unrest? Examining Torture brings together some of the best recent scholarship on the incidence of torture in a comparative and international context. The contributors to this volume use both quantitative and qualitative studies to examine the causes and consequences of torture policies and the resulting public opinion. Policy makers as well as scholars and those concerned with human rights will find this collection invaluable.

Why did it happen? Why did the United States begin to torture detainees during the War on Terror? Instead of an indictment, this book presents an explanation. Crises produce rare opportunities for overcoming the domestic and foreign policylogjams facing political leaders. But what if the projects used to address the crisis and provide cover for their domestic policy initiatives come under serious threat from clandestine opponents? Then the restraints on interrogation can be overwhelmed, leading to the creation ofinformal institutions that allow the official establishment of torture. These ideas are tested using comparative historical narratives drawn from two cases where torture was adopted - the War on Terror and the Stalinist Terror - and one where it was not - the Mexican War. The book concludes with some thoughts about how the United States can avoid the legal establishment of torture in the future.