Torture: The Role of Ideology in the French-Algerian War

by Rita Maran

Overview

Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, this book looks in depth at the use of torture during the French-Algerian War (1954-1962) to reveal the failure of that liberal democratic state to uphold its obligations on rights. Rita Maran examines the Mission Civilisatrice ideology that justified the routine use of torture during that war and points out that human rights violations traceable to ideology occur irrespective of a state's political system or tradition of rights. The book contrasts the routinization of torture with the contemporaneous global development of norms to assure human rights and abolish torture. Maran concludes that reliance on a state's avowedly benevolent traditions of rights is not necessarily sufficient to protect individuals against state-directed violence, and that international law on human rights can provide significant protection.

The book begins with a brief history of torture in France up to the French-Algerian War. Torture, international human rights law, and civilizing mission ideology are then described and defined. The major portion of the book is devoted to interpretation of the discourse of exemplary people from three sectors of French society—government, the military, and the intellectuals—to demonstrate that reliance on the civilizing mission ideology rationalized the use of torture. Torture is a source of valuable and stimulating ideas for political scientists, historians, lawyers, social psychologists, jourbanalists, ethicists, scholars of colonialism and colonial discourse, and all concerned with human rights as part of international discourse.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275932480
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/07/1989
Pages:	230
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

RITA MARAN writes on torture as a violation of international law on human rights. She is a founding member and member of the Board of Directors of Human Rights Advocates, a California-based organization accredited to the United Nations. She organizes public forums and brings the subject of torture into public discussion on radio and television in England, Europe and Africa, and the United States. Her Ph.D. in international human rights law is from the University of California. She is completing another book on torture as a political tool for governing.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Torture
International Human Rights Law
Mission Civilisatrice: Ideology, Practice, Implications
Methodology
Narrative of Projected Chapters
Discourse of the French Government
Protection of the Individual by State
France's System of Justice with respect to Algeria
International Legal Norms
Government Responses to Accounts of Torture
Charles de Gaulle
Discourse of the French Military
Substantive Content
Arrangement of Chapter
Discourse of Soldiers
Discourse of the Commanders
Discourse of the Intellectuals
"Intellectuals" in Context
Universalism
Intellectuals as a Political Factor
Wartime Activities of Intellectuals
Availability of Public Information on Torture
Discourse of Intellectuals
Discourse of Intellectuals Who Were Tortured
Conclusions
Summary and Conclusions
The Civilizing Mission's Historic Underevaluation
The Civilizing Mission in French Theory and Practice on Rights
The Civilizing Mission Ideology and Torture
Antinomies of the Ideology
Rights in France
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Published to coincide with the 200th anniversary of France's Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, Maran's penetrating study looks in depth at the use of torture during the French-Algerian War (1954-62) to reveal the failure of that liberal democratic state to uphold its obligations on rights. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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