Between Forbearance and Audacity

Ezgi Yildiz is an Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach, and a Research Associate at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She is a member of the Expert Group for the EU's Anti-Torture Regulation and the Coordinating Committee of ESIL's Interest Group on Social Sciences and International Law.

• 1. The court redefines torture in Europe; 2. The conditions for audacity; 3. Inside the court: its trade-offs and zone of discretion; 4. Mapping out norm change; 5. From compromise to absolutism? Gradual transformation under the old court's watch; 6. New court, new thresholds, new obligations; 7. Change unopposed: the court's embrace of positive obligations; 8. Legal change in times of backlash; 9. Conclusion; 10. Bibliography.

'Between Forbearance and Audacity meticulously explains how and why the European Court of Human Rights has expanded the prohibition on torture from a narrow negative interpretation that bans government agents from using torture during interrogations to a broader understanding that includes positive government obligations to prevent torture and protect victims in multiple contexts, such as domestic abuse and medical settings. However, the Court has not always followed an expansive approach. Using in depth interviews and a systematic content analysis, Yildiz demonstrates that pushback from Western European governments has at times curtailed the Court, such as on cases involving refugees. Deeply rooted in both law and political science, this is a masterful book that should be of interest to those interested in human rights, international courts, and the development of international legal norms.' Erik Voeten, Peter F. Krogh Professor of Geopolitics and Justice in World Affairs, Edmund E. Walsh School of Foreign Service and Government Department, Georgetown University