Democracy's blameless leaders : from Dresden to Abu Ghraib, how leaders evade accountability for abuse, atrocity, and killing / Neil James Mitchell.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mitchell, Neil J. (Neil James), 1953-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Political leadership--Moral and ethical aspects--Case studies.

Political leadership.

Democracy--Moral and ethical aspects--Case studies.

Democracy.

Civilians in war--Crimes against--Case studies.

Civilians in war.

Criminal liability (International law)--Case studies.

Criminal liability (International law).

Atrocities--Case studies.

Atrocities.

Government accountability--Case studies.

Government accountability.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (276 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From the American and British counter-insurgency in Iraq to the bombing of Dresden and the Amristar Massacre in India, civilians are often abused and killed when they are caught in the cross-fire of wars and other conflicts. In Democracy’s Blameless Leaders, Neil Mitchell examines how leaders in democracies manage the blame for the abuse and the killing of civilians, arguing that politicians are likely to react in a self-interested and opportunistic way and seek to deny and evade accountability.Using empirical evidence from well-known cases of abuse and atrocity committed by the security forces of established, liberal democracies, Mitchell shows that self-interested political leaders will attempt to evade accountability for abuse and atrocity, using a range of well-known techniques including denial, delay, diversion, and delegation to pass blame for abuse and atrocities to the lowest plausible level. Mitchell argues that, despite the conventional wisdom that accountability is a ‘central feature’ of democracies, it is only a rare and courageous leader who acts differently, exposing the limits of accountability in democratic societies. As democracies remain embroiled in armed conflicts, and continue to try to come to grips with past atrocities, Democracy’s Blameless Leaders provides a timely analysis of why these events occur, why leaders behave as they do, and how a more accountable system might be developed.

Contents:

Preface

Introduction

The theory of the fall guy

Evading accountability

Amritsar

Dresden

Londonderry

Beirut

Baghdad

Baghdad to Basra

A tale of a few cities: better leaders, better institutions, or a better audience?.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814763384

0814763383

9780814763377

0814763375

OCLC:

819594428