Fallgirls: Gender and the Framing of Torture at Abu Ghraib (Classical and Contemporary Social Theory), by Ryan Ashley Caldwell

Initially published in 2012 and now reedited, this book constitutes a peculiar contribution to the torture literature on perpetrators. Existing books have already covered: self-justifying perspectives written by perpetrators (i.e. Aussaresses, 2010; Moore-King, 1998; Pardo, 2014; Troccoli, 1996); in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pau Pérez Sales
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims 2018-11-01
Series:Torture
Online Access:https://tidsskrift.dk/torture-journal/article/view/111203
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Initially published in 2012 and now reedited, this book constitutes a peculiar contribution to the torture literature on perpetrators. Existing books have already covered: self-justifying perspectives written by perpetrators (i.e. Aussaresses, 2010; Moore-King, 1998; Pardo, 2014; Troccoli, 1996); interviews with perpetrators or analysis from autobiographical texts (i.e. Conroy, 2000; Crelinsten & Schmid, Alex P (Eds.), 1995; Haritos-Fatouros, 2003; Payne, 2008; Pérez-Sales, 2017); and analysis of the interaction from a survivor’s viewpoint (Gil, 1999). There also exists a wealth of social psychology books that attempt to theorize the logic and dynamics of becoming a perpetrator (i.e. Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Browning, 1992; Miller, 2004; Staub, 1999). Caldwell’s book adopts the extreme hypothesis that the soldiers England and Harman, judged for acts of misconduct in Abu Ghraib after the leakage of dozens of terrible pictures, are innocent. The book goes on to defend the nearly untenable thesis that England and Harman must be considered victims themselves. It is thus wholly unsurprising to find out that Caldwell was part of the legal defence team for both soldiers.
ISSN:1018-8185
1997-3322