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• 29 nov 2011

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  Study days - Modern

  Interrogation in War and Conflict: between Liberty, Security and Justice

  After recent revelations of a « UK Abu Ghraib », with allegations of systematic mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners of war at a British military interrogation centre, and the opening of a formal inquiry, the role of military interrogations has once again been under scrutiny. This seems a particularly opportune time to discuss « interrogation » both as a military event and as a cultural phenomenon. Interrogation raises moral questions, especially for states that see themselves as « liberal », but it can also be approached from many other angles. It is often, for example, a « first contact » between actors who come from different cultures and speak different languages. It sets out to elicit information, but the absorption of that information depends on the conceptual scheme of the interrogator. There are important differences between interrogations done by ordinary soldiers, debriefings by professional intelligence operatives, and interviews that generate forensic evidence.

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