Plausible legality : legal culture and political imperative in the global war on terror / Rebecca Sanders.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sanders, Rebecca, author.

Series:

Oxford studies in culture and politics.

Oxford studies in culture and politics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Terrorism--Prevention--Law and legislation--United States.

Terrorism.

Administrative responsibility.

Civil rights--Government policy--United States.

Civil rights.

Human rights--United States.

Human rights.

Rule of law.

International crimes.

National security--Law and legislation--United States.

National security.

War on Terrorism, 2001-2009.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2018.

Summary:

After 9/11, American officials authorized numerous contentious counterterrorism practices including torture, extraordinary rendition, indefinite detention, trial by military commission, targeted killing, and mass surveillance. While these policies sparked global outrage, the Bush administration defended them as legally legitimate. Government lawyers produced memoranda deeming enhanced interrogation techniques, denial of habeas corpus, drone strikes, and warrantless wiretapping lawful. Although it rejected torture, the Obama administration made similar claims and declined to prosecute abuses. This work seeks to understand how and why Americans repeatedly legally justified seemingly illegal security policies and what this tells us about the capacity of law to constrain state violence.

Notes:

Previously issued in print: 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from home page (viewed on July 11, 2018).

ISBN:

0-19-087057-5

0-19-087058-3