Conversations with History: Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley

See the Conversations with History Blog See a webcast of this interview: Farer See also the 2000 interview with Tom Farer: "International Law and Human Rights."

This interview is part of the Institute's "Conversations with History" series, and uses Internet technology to share with the public Berkeley's distinction as a global forum for ideas.

Welcome to a Conversation with History. I'm Harry Kreisler of the Institute of International Studies. Our distinguished guest today is Tom Farer, who is Dean of the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver. An international lawyer and policy analyst, he has written extensively on human rights, international law, U.S. foreign policy, and humanitarian intervention. His new book, Confronting Global Terrorism: The Elements of a Liberal Grand Strategy, will be published in the fall of 2007 by Oxford University Press.

1. Defining the Terms ... conservatives vs. libertarians ... neocons vs. traditional conservatives ... Kissingerians vs. Rumsfeld/Cheney ... neocons vs. liberals ... liberals vs. libertarians ... conservatives vs. rightists ... chauvinism ...communities vs. the individual
2. Implications for Policy-Making ... attacking Iraq: the message vs. the messenger ... indifference to the people ... Realists who opposed the war ... rightist idealism ... unchecked power ... the notion of sin ... the new executive prerogative: "I am the decider"
3. International Law and Human Rights ... restraints on use of force ... notions of war ... human rights ... pluralists vs. reductionists ... war on terror compared with Cold War ... Latin America and an unchecked executive power ... litmus test for judiciary ... human rights as US policy ... co-opted by neocons ... rightist idealism
4. International and Domestic Consequences ... US credibility strained ... harder to intervene for humanitarian purposes ... UN interventions ... domestic consequences of accepting torture as legitimate means ... historic background of turning from torture ... torture in popular culture ... strengthening the taboo agains torture
5. Torture ... implausible scenario: the ticking bomb ... real-life uses of torture ... torture metastasizes ... torture as threat to democracy ... partnership with sociopaths ... implausible scenario: the kidnapper ... scenarios must not guide legitimacy

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