Professor Darius Rejali
Darius’s encyclopedic knowledge of the history and practices of torture, documented most powerfully in his book, Torture and Democracy make him one of the most respected experts on the politics and dynamics of torture in the world. He has spent his scholarly career reflecting on violence, and, specifically, reflecting on the causes, consequences, and meaning of modern torture in our world. His work spans concerns in political science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, history, and critical social theory. Torture and Democracy (Princeton University Press) won the 2007 Human Rights Book of the Year Award from the American Political Science Association and the Raphael Lemkin Award from the Institute for the Study of Genocide for the best non-fiction work addressing the causes of genocide and crimes against humanity. His scholarly work has now also placed him in the international media spotlight, and positioning him among the world’s most sought after experts, with appearances in news sources that range from Democracy Now! to Al Jazeera and from the BBC to the Washington Post. Darius is a Professor of Political Science at Reed University.
Through a history of conversations with Associate Professor Celermajer, Darius was instrumental in the original conception of the project. During the life of the project, his specific contribution was to conduct an inventory and critical analysis of torture prevention strategies, as well as conceptual analysing of the empirical country based material.