Neoconservative Ideology and the Use of Torture in the "Global War on Terror" : Morally Right, in perfect denial, or in persistent cognitive dissonance?

The weight of neoconservative ideology in world politics is generally identified and acknowledged. In spite of this, more profound studies are found wanting. I attempt to make the ideology more understandable and approach it from a distinct point of view, examining neoconservatism's attitude to torture in the United States' 'Global War on Terror'. In so doing, my aim is also to clarify the thus far often somewhat vague distinction between the current U.S. administration and neoconservatism in political and academic writing. I have utilized the theory of cognitive dissonance created by Leon Festinger to study the mechanisms in play concerning the different attitudes toward the use of torture. The theory has so far found very few applications in the study of international relations, but I believe there to be significant potential in its future use. On a more concrete level, I undertake to examine whether the core values of neoconservatism (human rights, liberal democracy, 'American values' and 'moral use of power') on the one hand, and condoning attitudes toward the use of torture on the other, give rise to an intolerable inner conflict that could be called cognitive dissonance. The use of torture is absolutely prohibited in international law, standards and norms. The most central internationally binding legal obligation prohibiting the use of torture is the Convention against Torture from 1984. The convention prohibits the use of torture in all cases and without exception. My study examines the question of torture in the context of the 'War on Terror' and the relation of torture to the individual. The individual rises in fact to become one of the most salient levels of analysis in the paper: each of neoconservatism's core values can be said to be based on defending the rights of the individual while torture can simultaneously be defined as being the ultimate denial of the individual's worth and dignity. I conclude my study by asserting that neoconservatism's attitude toward torture has led to severe conflicts with its own core values. Although accurate definitions of the mechanisms used in alleviating the dissonance are impossible to find, the study gives evidence indicating that denial of responsibility and a rearranging of the hierarchy of internal values can have been included in the reduction of dissonance. I deem the observation made in the study that attempts to reduce dissonance typically 'spill over' to other seemingly unattached areas of decision-making highly important. What this means is that in addition to influencing core values or the fundamental level of ideology, past decisions also influence future decisions.Uuskonservatiivisen ideologian painoarvo maailmanpolitiikassa tunnistetaan ja tunnustetaan yleisesti. Tästä huolimatta sen syvällinen tutkimus ei ole ollut laajaa. Pyrin työssäni tekemään ideologiaa omalta osaltani ymmärrettävämmäksi ja lähestyn sitä tarkasti rajatusta näkökulmasta selvittäen ideologian suhtautumista kidutukseen Yhdysvaltojen 'terrorismin vastaisen sodan' aikana. Samalla selvennän tieteellisessä ja yhteiskunnallisessa keskustelussa usein epäselväksi jäänyttä eroa Yhdysvaltain nykyhallinnon ja uuskonservatismin välillä. Selvittääkseni niitä mekanismeja, joita suhtautuminen kidutukseen voi pitää sisällään olen käyttänyt työssäni Leon Festingerin kehittämää kognitiivisen dissonanssin teoriaa. Teorian käyttö on ollut kansainvälisten suhteiden tutkimuksessa erittäin vähäistä, mutta uskon sillä tulevaisuudessa voivan olla alalla merkittäviä sovelluksia. Astetta konkreettisemmalla tasolla pyrin selvittämään, aiheuttaako yhtäältä uuskonservatismin perusarvojen (ihmisoikeudet, liberaali demokratia, 'amerikkalaiset arvot' ja 'moraalinen voimankäyttö') ja toisaalta kidutukseen sallivasti suhtautuminen Yhdysvaltain 'terrorismin vastaisen sodan' viitekehyksessä kestämättömän sisäisen ristiriitatilanteen, mitä voitaisiin kutsua kognitiiviseksi dissonanssiksi. Kidutuksen käyttö on kansainvälisten ihmisoikeusnormien mukaan ehdottomasti kiellettyä. Yhdysvaltoja sitovista kansainvälisistä velvoitteista tärkein on YK:n kidutuksen ja epäinhimillisen kohtelun kieltävä sopimus (Convention against Torture) vuodelta 1984. Sopimus kieltää kidutuksen käytön kaikissa tapauksissa. Tarkastelen työssäni kidutuksen käyttöä 'terrorismin vastaisessa sodassa' sekä kidutuksen suhdetta yksilöön. Yksilön rooli nouseekin työssä selkeästi esille edellä mainitun kognitiivisen ristiriidan ilmentäjänä: uuskonservatismin perusarvoista jokainen perustuu juuri yksilön oikeuksien puolustamiseen, kun samalla kidutuksen voidaan todeta loukkaavan yksilön ihmisarvoa perimmäisellä tavalla. Päädyn työssäni toteamaan uuskonservatiivisen ideologian asenteen kidutukseen johtaneen vaikeisiin ristiriitatilanteisiin suhteessa ideologian omiin perusarvoihin. Vaikka tarkkoja dissonanssia lievittäviä mekanismeja on mahdotonta määrittää, voidaan tutkimuksen perusteella arvioida vastuun kieltämisen ja arvohierarkian sisäisen uudelleenjärjestelyn sisältyneen uuskonservatismin käyttämiin keinoihin. Pidän tärkeänä huomiona sitä, että kognitiivisen dissonanssin vähentämispyrkimykset tällä yhdellä aihealueella ovat vaikuttaneet ja vaikuttavat myös uuskonservatismin tuleviin päätöksiin

How can the potential harms of loot boxes be minimised? : Proposals for understanding and addressing issues at a national level

Background and aims: Loot boxes are in-game items which distribute rewards to players via random -number generation; many games require players to make in-game payments to access their contents. The combination of financial outlay and random rewards has raised concern about similarities to gambling. This debate paper presents a series of themes identified by an inter-institutional working group in Finland, alongside suggested actions, and are presented with the intention of stimulating debate among stakeholders. Methods: This work uses an exploratory research approach to gather data from a range of sources, including state-of-the-art reports from several fields and qualitative content analysis of invited presentations from a range of stakeholders, including affected individuals, practi-tioners, and field-specific experts. Results and Discussion: Several significant themes emerged from the work and are presented alongside a series of proposed action points. Based on this preliminary exploration we propose a series of, non-exhaustive, actions for both primary and secondary prevention. Furthermore, the group identified the potential for responsible gaming practices to be adopted which would help to minimize the harm from overspending in gaming activities. Finally, we identified the need for further research in the field, for example the use of player data and both longitudinal and qualitative studies. Conclusions: The emergent themes are discussed in relation to both the views of the presenters and existing research in the field and are intended to promote discussion concerning the viability of context-specific approaches to an issue of global reach and significance.Peer reviewe

How can the potential harms of loot boxes be minimised?: Proposals for understanding and addressing issues at a national level

Background and aimsLoot boxes are in-game items which distribute rewards to players via random-number generation; many games require players to make in-game payments to access their contents. The combination of financial outlay and random rewards has raised concern about similarities to gambling. This debate paper presents a series of themes identified by an inter-institutional working group in Finland, alongside suggested actions, and are presented with the intention of stimulating debate among stakeholders.MethodsThis work uses an exploratory research approach to gather data from a range of sources, including state-of-the-art reports from several fields and qualitative content analysis of invited presentations from a range of stakeholders, including affected individuals, practitioners, and field-specific experts.Results and DiscussionSeveral significant themes emerged from the work and are presented alongside a series of proposed action points. Based on this preliminary exploration we propose a series of, non-exhaustive, actions for both primary and secondary prevention. Furthermore, the group identified the potential for responsible gaming practices to be adopted which would help to minimize the harm from overspending in gaming activities. Finally, we identified the need for further research in the field, for example the use of player data and both longitudinal and qualitative studies.ConclusionsThe emergent themes are discussed in relation to both the views of the presenters and existing research in the field and are intended to promote discussion concerning the viability of context-specific approaches to an issue of global reach and significance</p

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Are balance problems connected to reading speed or the familial risk of dyslexia?

AIM: The aim of this study was to examine the connection between balance problems and reading speed in children with and without a familial risk of dyslexia by controlling for the effects of attention, hyperactivity, and cognitive and motor functioning. METHOD: The prevalence of balance problems was studied in 94 children (48 females, 46 males) with a familial risk of dyslexia (at-risk group) and 85 children (38 females, 47 males) without a risk of dyslexia (comparison group). Further, the relationships between balance problems (at age 8y 6mo), reading proficiency (at age 9y), attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (at age 8y), and cognitive (at age 8y 6mo) and motor functioning (at age 6y 6mo) were examined. Inclusion criteria for the at-risk group were that at least one parent had a confirmed reading problem and one or more of the parents' close relatives also had a reading problem. The Good Balance System was used to assess static standing balance, word-list and text reading tasks were used to measure reading proficiency. The Behavioural Assessment System for Children - Parent Rating Scale was used to assess attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children was used to assess cognitive functioning, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to measure motor functioning. RESULTS: Balance (F((1,177)) =4.82; p=0.029; =0.027) and reading (F((1,176)) =11.95; p=0.001; =0.064) problems were more common in the at-risk group than in the comparison group. Furthermore, attention, hyperactivity, IQ, and motor functioning were not related to balance problems. However, attention (F((1,154)) =10.80; p=0.001; =0.066) and IQ (F((1,170)) =22.08; p<0.001; =0.115) were individually connected to reading speed. INTERPRETATION: Balance problems alone could not produce any differences in reading skills. Instead, both balance problems and reduced reading skills were mainly associated separately with a familial risk of dyslexia. This indicates that there may be a shared genetic mechanism between balance and reading problems