The Demise of the Law: Black Sites as a Manifestation of the Illegality of Legality

open_access
Open Access
Author:
Scott, Kaila
Area of Honors:
Philosophy
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Eduardo Mendieta, Thesis Supervisor
Uygar Abaci, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Law
Guantanamo Bay
Abu Ghraib
CIA Black Sites
Friend-Enemy Distinction
Spaces of Exception
Constitution
Abstract:
In modern history, we have experienced the development of zones of exception, also known as black sites, such as Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib. These spaces of exception highlight the creation of a new form of sovereignty that poses a fundamental question about politics and law: is the sovereign above the law? In this thesis, I will discuss the philosophy of Carl Schmitt in his book titled The Concept of the Political in order to explore his foundational distinction between friend and enemy. Secondly, I will consider Giorgio Agamben’s The State of Exception and the concept of homo sacre to dissect his arguments relating to why these states of exception exist and the political legal conundrum that follows. I will then apply these two philosophical concepts to black sites in order to unpack the assumptions that led us to their creation and implementation into society. I will examine the United States’ friend-enemy distinction and reveal the sovereign who created a space of exception in which those held at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib became victims of atrocious human rights violations. The United States was forced to realize that it violated international law and its own most fundamental commitments, namely to the rule of law. The hypocrisy that exists here reveals a fundamental legal/political concept: the law undermines itself.