The Violence of Incarceration

by Phil Scraton (Editor), Jude McCulloch (Editor)

Conceived in the immediate aftermath of the humiliations and killings of prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq, of the suicides and hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay and of the disappearances of detainees through extraordinary rendition, this book explores the connections between these shameful events and the inhumanity and degradation of domestic prisons within the 'allied' states, including the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK and Ireland. The central theme is that the revelations of extreme brutality perpetrated by allied soldiers represent the inevitable end-product of domestic incarceration predicated on the use of extreme violence including lethal force. Exposing as fiction the claim to the political moral high ground made by western liberal democracies is critical because such claims animate and legitimate global actions such as the 'war on terror' and the indefinite detention of tens of thousands of people by the United States which accompanies it. The myth of moral virtue works to hide, silence, minimize and deny the brutal continuing history of violence and incarceration both within western countries and undertaken on behalf of western states beyond their national borders.

Genres: Nonfiction

282 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2008

Reviews

[Emma Sea]

Fuck. Many fucks. An extremely well-written collection of essays, but man . . . that's some tough reading.

Really drives home the horror and dehumanisation of state-sanctioned violence.

I don't know how to rate it. A 5 for the writing and content, but a -100 for "enjoyment".

[david · Rating 4 out of 5]

i only read the Avery Gordon, Dylan Rodriguez, and Cassandra Shaylor parts. but those are great.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is the most amazing resource, so many brilliant contributions.