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89 Prison J. 3 (2009)

handle is hein.journals/prsjrnl89 and id is 1 raw text is: Articles lwi t)\neI Marc h 2009) 3-20 0D 209, SAGE Pu Ica ti.ons Guantanam o Bay as a 10.1177/0032885508329971 Foucauldian Phenomenon hosted at http://ontlinecsagepub.com 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-9/1 1 world, raising sharp ques- tions about its legality under international law and reports of harsh confine- ment 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 under- gone 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. Keywords: Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay; penal discourse; Foucault; human rights n the emergent war on terror, the Detention Camp at Guantanamo Bay (DCGB) has emerged as a unique and highly controversial experiment, prompting a penological question: What kind of prison is it exactly?' While Author's Note: I am grateful to Deans Arnold Hyndman, Holly Smith, Ed Rhodes, and Allan Horwitz and the Rutgers University sabbatical program for providing the opportunity com- plete this project. Likewise, I acknowledge my colleagues at the Centre for the Study of Human Rights at the London School of Economics, particularly Conor Gearty and Stan Cohen, for their support. 3