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This article argues that torture is made possible, despite almost universal condemnation in legal codes, by the construction of a closed world that permits the use of torture against specific members of society defined as enemies. The article examines how a torture-sustaining reality is constructed (causes), how it is maintained and institutionalized (consequences), how it can be dismantled or deconstructed (cures) and, ultimately, how it can be prevented from forming in the first place (prevention, early warning). For each phase, the article looks at those variables that are most pertinent for three types of actors: perpetrators, victims and bystanders. It also examines those variables that operate primarily at the domestic level and those that operate at the international level.
Ronald D. Crelinsten (Fri,) studied this question.