Abstract

In 1971, Philip Zimbardo’s study proved that the majority of so-called “normal” people would turn into tormenters if they were in a structurally pre-determined situation, such as the prison system, where they would be given power over other people. In 2004, Les Escadrons de la mort, l’école française by Marie-Monique Robin showed how the information-gathering methods employed by the French army during the Algerian war of Independence were, in the fifties, taught to the American army and served to train the various juntas in Latin America in order to crush the resistance. In a reflection whose ramifications aim to be transnational, diachronic, and interdisciplinary, I propose to analyze Didier Daeninckx’s short story “Corvée de bois,” examining the repercussions that this war continues to have on current political discourse surrounding the “war on terror.”

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