The Official Torturer: A Learning Model for Obedience to the Authority of Violence
- 1 October 1988
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Applied Social Psychology
- Vol. 18 (13) , 1107-1120
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1559-1816.1988.tb01196.x
Abstract
The military training and selection procedures leading to the behavior of a torturer are discussed. The analysis is based on testimonies of army police servicemen at the first torturers' trial in Greece and on the interviews of ex‐military policemen who served under the military dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974). It is concluded that, given the appropriate training condition, any individual is a potential torturer, and a model for obedience to the authority of violence is proposed.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- For a Sociology of Evil*Journal of Social Issues, 1969