Classical and Contemporary Social Theory : Violence, Society and Radical Theory : Bataille, Baudrillard and Contemporary Society

This Book Examines The Communication Battles Of The Bush And Blair Political Administrations (and Those Of Their Successors) Over Their Use Of Torture To Gain Intelligence For The War On Terror. Exploring The Agenda-building Drivers That Exposed The Torture-intelligence Nexus And Presenting Case Studies Of Key Media Events From The Uk And Usa, It Examines Dominant Political Discourses On The Torture-for-intelligence Policy And Evaluates Various Modes Of Resistance To Governmentsoco Attempts At Strategic Political Communication, With Particular Attention To Ocysousveillanceoco: Community-based Recording From First-person Perspectives. As Such, It Will Appeal To Scholars Across The Social Sciences With Interests In Media, Sociology, Political Communication, International Relations, And Journalism. Torture, Intelligence and Sousveillance in the War on Terror examines the communication battles of the Bush and Blair political administrations (and those of their successors in America and Britain) over their use of torture, first-hand or second-hand, to gain intelligence for the War on Terror. Exploring key agenda-building drivers that exposed the torture-intelligence nexus and presenting detailed case studies of key media events from the UK and USA, this insightful volume exposes dominant political discourses on the torture-for-intelligence policy. Whether in the form of unauthorized leaks, official investigations, investigative journalism, real-time reporting, or Non-Governmental Organisation activity, this timely study evaluates various modes of resistance to governments' attempts at strategic political communication, with particular attention to 'sousveillance': community-based recording from first-person perspectives. A rigorous exposition of the power-knowledge relationships constituting the torture-intelligence nexus, which re-evaluates agenda-building models in the digital age and assesses the strength of the public sphere across the Third, Fourth and Fifth Estates, Torture, Intelligence and Sousveillance in the War on Terror will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in media and communication, sociology and social theory, politics and political communication, international relations, and journalism Cover 1 Contents 6 Acknowledgements 8 Preface 10 Introduction 12 1 Bataille, Baudrillard and the Theorisation of Violence 26 2 Violence, Society and Excess 58 3 The Simulacrum of Sex: Serial Killing and Intra-Genic Violence 88 4 Re-Thinking ‘Spree Killing’ 110 5 Fascism, Terrorism and Hatred 130 Conclusion 158 Bibliography 164 Index 172