Detainee Interaction Study
Detainee Interaction Study
Since September 11, 2001, the United States and its allies have been engaged in Counter-Terrorism (CT) and Counter-Insurgency (COIN) operations around the globe. During that time, American involvement in abusive violence against persons detained in these campaigns has been a prominent feature of the policy discussions of the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. What have been little appreciated or studied are the individual decisions made by the men and women on the ground that result in the actual abuse.
The Detainee Interaction Study is examining the lived experiences of American military and intelligence veterans who observed or participated in abusive violence in CT or COIN campaigns since September 11.
What is Abusive Violence?
For this study, Abusive Violence is defined as deliberate violence not necessary for self-defense. For example, violence directed at an insurgent sniper position would not be considered abusive violence. However, violence directed at an insurgent after he had been captured from the same sniper position would probably be considered abusive if the prisoner was not an immediate threat to others.
Method and Study Areas
The study will include in-depth and confidential semi-structured interviews of participants. The interviews will be conducted in person within the US, or in some cases via internet. Participants will be provided the opportunity to fully share their experiences through these interviews. An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis will be applied to each interview and across interviews to identify important themes relating to the major areas being studied.
Three major areas will be studied:
- What were the reasons that individuals decided that abusive violence against detainees was necessary?
- How were specific methods of abuse developed, learned, shared and selected for use against detainees?
- How do individuals, no longer operating within the combat and other contexts in which the abuse occurred, now make sense of the abuse they observed or participated in?
How to Participate
Persons interested in participating may send confidential email to:
Further Information
Detainee Interaction Study: Call for Interviews (PDF, 321 KB)
Detainee Interaction Study: Participant Info Sheet (PDF, 73 KB)
