ASSESSING THE EFFICACY OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE WAR ON T IBD

Sinopsis

Prior to President Obama halting all ongoing military commissions, the United States charged six Guantanamo Bay prisoners with capital crimes. Further, his latest policy directive for new military commission rules has not excluded the death penalty as punishment. Application of the death penalty for convicted terrorists will draw worldwide attention. President Obama?s decision to approve or disapprove a capital sentence has both domestic and international implications. Not only will application of the death penalty draw international attention, and possibly international ire, it will prove problematic because of competing issues related to strategic communication, international expectations, domestic desires, and the overall effort in fighting global terrorism. In President Obama?s early days in office, he has put great emphasis on the American identity in the international arena and on using the American identity to build relationships with other nations. Therefore, the constructivist approach to international relations is an effective tool for evaluating President Obama?s decisions during the punishment phase of military commissions. Using constructivism to frame his overarching decision, an examination of history, identity, law, and strategic communication help complete the examination of his strategic outlook. This paper provides a description of the international relations approach of constructivism as the theoretical basis for the author?s evaluation. The application of this approach requires a combination of history, philosophy, and law. In essence, this approach presupposes that American national identity, as manifested through President Obama and his administration, will explain the decision whether or not to use capital punishment against terrorists and of the potential positive and negative consequences of this decision based on group identities.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.