Foltersituationen und Wissensflüsse

In this open-access book, Max Breger explores questions of torture from the perspective of interactionist sociology. Torture is an extreme form of interpersonal action that, while delegitimized as a human rights violation, remains a common practice of modern states. Torturers exploit the various physical and psychological vulnerabilities of human beings to inflict suffering on perceived enemies and to exert dominance. But how can situations of torture be understood as social situations beyond this? What entanglements of knowledge about 'effective' torture techniques, enemy constructions, and legal norms—such as the global prohibition of torture—are relevant here? The U.S. torture complex during the so-called War on Terror serves as the empirical case, which was established as a targeted policy of the U.S. government by the CIA and parts of the U.S. military outside the rule of law following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Drawing on organizational documents such as memoranda and interrogation plans, as well as testimonies from torture survivors and former personnel at sites like Guantánamo, Max Breger examines torture situations within their historical and organizational contexts. Through his sociological analysis of knowledge, the body, and violence, he contributes to the understanding of the legitimization and exercise of state violence.