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The Prison Journal
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Guantanamo Bay as a Foucauldian Phenomenon

An Analysis of Penal Discourse, Technologies, and Resistance

Michael Welch

Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey

The Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay (DCGB) has emerged as one of the most controversial penal institutions in a post-9/11 world, raising sharp questions about its legality under international law and reports of harsh confinement conditions, coercive interrogations, and indefinite detention. Although a fast-growing literature addresses those issues, there are few penological excursions into the precise nature of DCGB and its internal workings. Attempting to offer a coherent theoretical interpretation, this article situates DCGB within the work of Michel Foucault. Although Foucault has undergone considerable critique for his writings on imprisonment, there remains much potential for improving scholars' understanding of the prison and specifically the role of DCGB in the war on terror. The analysis sets out to decipher the significance of penal discourse, technologies, and resistance unfolding at DCGB. By doing so, critical insights into various forms of modern power are illuminated alongside their unintended consequences. Implications for human rights are discussed throughout.

Key Words: Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay • penal discourse • Foucault • human rights

This version was published on March 1, 2009

The Prison Journal, Vol. 89, No. 1, 3-20 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/0032885508329971
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