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Anthropology of law, fear, and the War on Terror

2017; Wiley; Volume: 33; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/1467-8322.12327

1467-8322

Laura Nader,

Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

Since 9/11, the US government has arrested hundreds of people, mainly American Muslims and Middle Easterners. Such arrests grow out of control and accusations become the same as guilt. Mob mentality becomes a state of mind, a sociopolitical phenomenon that periodically erupts, fuelled by right-wing Christian religious extremists and frequent malicious government prosecutions. A key characteristic of interest to anthropologists who study law is that the accused is presumed guilty without due process.