Brutality in an age of human rights : activism and counterinsurgency at the end of the British empire

This study seeks to bring international histories of human rights into closer dialogue with military histories of insurgent movements and counterinsurgency warfare. Both military historians and historians of human rights have largely ignored the role of rights activists in shaping wartime policies and practices. This book examines the effects of human rights activism during British counterinsurgency campaigns in Cyprus (1955-1959), Aden (1963-1967), and Northern Ireland (emphasizing 1969-1976). The book argues that in response to human rights activism, British officials developed new ways of covering up their abuses by denying allegations, deflecting criticism, and evading attempts to enforce accountability. Consequently, activists’ efforts and government responses to them linked the metaphorical battlefield of law, diplomacy, propaganda, and public opinion with the physical battlefield of ambushes, house searches, arrests, and interrogations. Focusing the analytical lens on activists and the officials with whom they interacted places human rights activists on the counterinsurgency “battlefield”—not as traditional arms-bearing combatants, but as actors who nonetheless influenced counterinsurgency policies and practices. In Brutality In An Age Of Human Rights, Brian Drohan Demonstrates That British Officials' Choices Concerning Counterinsurgency Methods Have Long Been Deeply Influenced Or Even Redirected By The Work Of Human Rights Activists. To Reveal How That Influence Was Manifested By Military Policies And Practices, Drohan Examines Three British Counterinsurgency Campaigns--cyprus (1955-1959), Aden (1963-1967), And The Peak Of The Troubles In Northern Ireland (1969-1976). This Book Is Enriched By Drohan's Use Of A Newly Available Collection Of 1.2 Million Colonial-era Files, International Committee Of The Red Cross Files, The Extensive Troubles Collection At Linen Hall Library In Belfast, And Many Other Sources. Drohan Argues That When Faced With Human Rights Activism, British Officials Sought To Evade, Discredit, And Deflect Public Criticism Of Their Actions To Avoid Drawing Attention To Brutal Counterinsurgency Practices Such As The Use Of Torture During Interrogation-- Introduction : Counterinsurgency And Human Rights In The Post-1945 World -- A Lawyers' War : Emergency Legislation And The Cyprus Bar Council -- The Shadow Of Strasbourg : International Advocacy And Britain's Response -- Hunger War : Humanitarian Rights And The Radfan Campaign -- This Unhappy Affair : Investigating Torture In Aden -- A More Talkative Place : Northern Ireland. Brian Drohan. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.

In Brutality in an Age of Human Rights, Brian Drohan demonstrates that British officials’ choices concerning counterinsurgency methods have long been deeply influenced or even redirected by the work of human rights activists. To reveal how that influence was manifested by military policies and practices, Drohan examines three British counterinsurgency campaigns—Cyprus (1955–1959), Aden (1963–1967), and the peak of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland (1969–1976). This book is enriched by Drohan’s use of a newly available collection of 1.2 million colonial-era files, International Committee of the Red Cross files, the extensive Troubles collection at Linen Hall Library in Belfast, and many other sources.

Drohan argues that when faced with human rights activism, British officials sought to evade, discredit, and deflect public criticism of their actions to avoid drawing attention to brutal counterinsurgency practices such as the use of torture during interrogation. Some of the topics discussed in the book, such as the use of violence against civilians, the desire to uphold human rights values while simultaneously employing brutal methods, and the dynamic of wars waged in the glare of the media, are of critical interest to scholars, lawyers, and government officials dealing with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those to come in the future.

In Brutality in an Age of Human Rights , Brian Drohan demonstrates that British officials' choices concerning counterinsurgency methods have long been deeply influenced or even redirected by the work of human rights activists. To reveal how that influence was manifested by military policies and practices, Drohan examines three British counterinsurgency campaigns—Cyprus (1955–1959), Aden (1963–1967), and the peak of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland (1969–1976). This book is enriched by Drohan's use of a newly available collection of 1.2 million colonial-era files, International Committee of the Red Cross files, the extensive Troubles collection at Linen Hall Library in Belfast, and many other sources. Drohan argues that when faced with human rights activism, British officials sought to evade, discredit, and deflect public criticism of their actions to avoid drawing attention to brutal counterinsurgency practices such as the use of torture during interrogation. Some of the topics discussed in the book, such as the use of violence against civilians, the desire to uphold human rights values while simultaneously employing brutal methods, and the dynamic of wars waged in the glare of the media, are of critical interest to scholars, lawyers, and government officials dealing with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those to come in the future.