The New Scientist has an interesting interview with Darius Rejali, author of Torture and Democracy. Rejali identifies a competitive dynamic which, he believes, can drive torture through a law enforcement system:
Usually the top authorizes it and the bottom delivers. Then it’s a slippery slope as torturers quickly become less responsive to centralised authority.
One reason is competition between interrogators. When policemen track down information, they cooperate. In torture it’s different. The guy who breaks the prisoner gets the reward. If you were the guy softening him up, would you hand him over for the next guy to get all the glory?
-
David Steven is a senior fellow at the UN Foundation and at New York University, where he founded the Global Partnership to End Violence against Children and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, a multi-stakeholder partnership to deliver the SDG targets for preventing all forms of violence, strengthening governance, and promoting justice and inclusion. He was lead author for the ministerial Task Force on Justice for All and senior external adviser for the UN-World Bank flagship study on prevention, Pathways for Peace. He is a former senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of The Risk Pivot: Great Powers, International Security, and the Energy Revolution (Brookings Institution Press, 2014). In 2001, he helped develop and launch the UK’s network of climate diplomats. David lives in and works from Pisa, Italy.
View all posts
