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International Journal of Comparative Sociology, Vol. 46, No. 1-2,
103-131 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0020715205054472
State Torture in the Contemporary World
Irwin M. Cohen
University College of the Fraser Valley, Canada, irwin.cohen{at}ucfv.ca
Raymond R. Corrado
Simon Fraser University, Canada, corrado{at}sfu.ca
This article argues that the variation in the use of torture as a mechanism of state terrorism can be best explained by recent changes in the global economy, the increasing influence of liberal-democratic political ideology, and the advent of anti-state Islamic terrorism. Specifically, although the use of state torture as a matter of policy is widespread, as societies shift from an agrarian society to an industrial and an advanced capitalist society, the disutility of policies of state torture increases primarily due to economic interdependence, the distribution of wealth, minimum standards of living, and the influence of the global media and the international community. While advanced liberal, capitalist states have employed state torture in the past and to a lesser extent more recently, these instances typically involve the use of torture against the citizens of other countries, privatizing torture organizations, or employing surrogate countries. The main focus of this article, however, is to explain the current growing disutility of policies of state torture as a form of state terror against real or perceived internal threats to the government or the state. Nonetheless, national variations in the extent or type of state torture will remain; however, this variation is primarily dependent on the type of macroeconomic structure of a country and its consequent economic integration in the emergent global economy.
Key Words: political stability • political violence • state torture • terrorism
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