Sacred violence
Subtitle: torture, terror, and sovereignty
By: Paul W. Kahn.
Series: Law, meaning, and violence
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Published: 2008
Place of publication: Ann Arbor
Language: eng
Number of pages: 233
ISBN-13: 9780472070473; 9780472050475
Subjects: Torture; Sovereignty; Political violence; War on Terrorism, 2001- -- Law and legislation
Description: "In Sacred Violence, Paul W. Kahn investigates the reasons for the resort to violence characteristic of premodern states. He contends that law will never offer an adequate account of political violence. Instead, we must turn to political theology, which reveals that torture and terror are, essentially, forms of sacrifice. Kahn forces us to acknowledge what we don't want to see: that we remain deeply committed to a violent politics beyond law."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Torture and sovereignty; title: Torture and international law; title: The current debate : torture in the War on Terror; title: A primer on political violence; title: Crossing the border between law and sovereignty.