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Durkheim's Concept of Anomie and the Abuse at Abu Ghraib

Texas A&M University, USA, Mestrovic{at}neo.tamu.edu

Ronald Lorenzo

Texas A&M University, USA

Durkheim's classical understanding of anomie as a societal condition of dérèglement or derangement is compared and contrasted with the functionalist understanding of anomie as normlessness. Assumptions are examined in the two different versions of anomie regarding culture, norms, agency, the international context, collective consciousness, military law, and other issues pertaining to abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Major General Fay's report on the abuse at Abu Ghraib is analyzed in the context of this sociological scrutiny regarding the meanings of anomie. We conclude that Durkheim's understanding of anomie seems to exhibit more fidelity than the Parsonian version to the facts concerning torture and abuse at Abu Ghraib as revealed during courts-martial and in government reports. We examine the implications for both social theory and the US Army of conceptualizing abuse at Abu Ghraib in the context of Durkheim's understanding of anomie.

Key Words: Abu Ghraib • anomie • Durkheim • functionalism • Iraq • military law • prison • sociology of law • torture • US Army • war crime

Journal of Classical Sociology, Vol. 8, No. 2, 179-207 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/1468795X08088871


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