04050nam 2200709 a 450 991082528980332120230801221638.00-8147-6338-30-8147-6337-510.18574/9780814763377(CKB)2670000000151354(EBL)865747(OCoLC)819594428(SSID)ssj0000634082(PQKBManifestationID)11386597(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000634082(PQKBWorkID)10621077(PQKB)11372298(StDuBDS)EDZ0000373895(OCoLC)778454572(MdBmJHUP)muse19824(DE-B1597)547746(DE-B1597)9780814763377(Au-PeEL)EBL865747(CaPaEBR)ebr10535660(MiAaPQ)EBC865747(EXLCZ)99267000000015135420111004d2012 uy 0engur|n|---|||||txtccrDemocracy's blameless leaders from Dresden to Abu Ghraib, how leaders evade accountability for abuse, atrocity, and killing /Neil James MitchellNew York New York University20121 online resource (276 p.)Description based upon print version of record.0-8147-6144-5 Includes bibliographical references and index.Preface -- Introduction -- The theory of the fall guy -- Evading accountability -- Amritsar -- Dresden -- Londonderry -- Beirut -- Baghdad -- Baghdad to Basra -- A tale of a few cities: better leaders, better institutions, or a better audience?.From the American and British counter-insurgency in Iraq to the bombing of Dresden and the Amristar Massacre in India, civilians are often abused and killed when they are caught in the cross-fire of wars and other conflicts. In Democracy’s Blameless Leaders, Neil Mitchell examines how leaders in democracies manage the blame for the abuse and the killing of civilians, arguing that politicians are likely to react in a self-interested and opportunistic way and seek to deny and evade accountability.Using empirical evidence from well-known cases of abuse and atrocity committed by the security forces of established, liberal democracies, Mitchell shows that self-interested political leaders will attempt to evade accountability for abuse and atrocity, using a range of well-known techniques including denial, delay, diversion, and delegation to pass blame for abuse and atrocities to the lowest plausible level. Mitchell argues that, despite the conventional wisdom that accountability is a ‘central feature’ of democracies, it is only a rare and courageous leader who acts differently, exposing the limits of accountability in democratic societies. As democracies remain embroiled in armed conflicts, and continue to try to come to grips with past atrocities, Democracy’s Blameless Leaders provides a timely analysis of why these events occur, why leaders behave as they do, and how a more accountable system might be developed.Political leadershipMoral and ethical aspectsCase studiesDemocracyMoral and ethical aspectsCase studiesCivilians in warCrimes againstCase studiesCriminal liability (International law)Case studiesAtrocitiesCase studiesGovernment accountabilityCase studiesPolitical leadershipMoral and ethical aspectsDemocracyMoral and ethical aspectsCivilians in warCrimes againstCriminal liability (International law)AtrocitiesGovernment accountability303.3/4Mitchell Neil J(Neil James),1953-1694621MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910825289803321Democracy's blameless leaders4073286UNINA