ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how torture could be prevented in COIN operations. It discusses clearly have little impact on military forces that no such commitment, or whose commitment is only skin deep. When military forces resort to torture, it is often in the pursuit of counter-insurgency (COIN) and counter-terrorist operations. Preventing this use of torture requires a different approach from that offered by current programmes; an approach that examines why torture is used in COIN operations, how it is justified, and what kinds of institutional structures contribute to the rationalization and normalization of torture. One reason why current ethics education programmes for COIN operations do not explore the nature of institutionalized torture is that most military forces are understandably reluctant to consider the possibility that torture could be authorized within their own ranks. Diffusion of responsibility, a focus on role-based behaviour, and an emphasis on obedience are features of the military institution that unfortunately provide fertile ground for the moral disengagement.
