Torture and Social Modernization
Year: 2010
Type: preprint
Abstract: Torture is (almost) universally condemned as barbaric and ineffective, yet it persists in the modern world. What factors influence levels of support for torture? One cluster of explanations focuses on social modernization as influencing public opinion. Public opinion data on the acceptability of torture from 31 countries in 2006 and 2008 (a total of 44 country-years) are used to test three modernization hypotheses. The findings, first, show that outright majorities in 31 county-years reject the use of torture. Supporting the social modernization explanation for value change, a multiple regression shows states with high per capita income, consolidated democracy and low levels of domestic repression have larger majorities opposed to torture. The implications of this study are discussed in the conclusion.
Source: SSRN Electronic Journal
Author: Peter Miller
Institution: University of California, Irvine
Language: English
Topic: Torture, Ethics, and Law
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2273359713