Torture and Its Definition In International Law: An Interdisciplinary Approach

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.

Preface Contributors Introduction Metin Ba,so&glu PART I: Behavioral Science Perspectives 1. A Theory- and Evidence- Based Approach to the Definition of Torture Metin Ba,so&glu 2. Control as a Defining Characteristic of Torture: A Learning Theory Analysis of the Kubark Interrogation Manual Hernan Reyes and Metin Basoglu 3. A Battle for Control: Resisting Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment at Guantanamo K. Alexa Koenig 4. An Evolutionary Approach to Humiliation and Shame Induced by Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Kaj Bjoerkqvist 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. Mendez 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 Basoglu's "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