Varying Methods of State Violence

During 1991-92, Israel's security agencies instituted changes in their techniques for interrogating Palestinian detainees. Rather than using brute force that was not centrally overseen, they began to use painful measures that did not leave scars, that were more tightly controlled by higher officials, and that they portrayed in public as humane. Israeli agencies did not apply these changes to interrogations in southern Lebanon, however. In Palestine, but not in Lebanon, the targeted population actively used world media to publicize allegations of mistreatment and notified international agencies and human rights groups of their plight. The Israeli changes illustrate that global forces are pushing at least some states to alter their sanctioned violence practices toward a worldwide norm of legitimacy that emphasizes professionalism, rationalization, and bureaucratization. Sociological field theory can explain much of this behavior but requires some modification to account for variations such as those described here.