"In Brutality in an Age of Human Rights, Brian Drohan demonstrates that British officials' choices concerning counterinsurgency methods have long been deeply influenced or even redirected by the work of human rights activists. To reveal how that influence was manifested by military policies and practices, Drohan examines three British counterinsurgency campaigns--Cyprus (1955-1959), Aden (1963-1967), and the peak of the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland (1969-1976). This book is enriched by Drohan's use of a newly available collection of 1.2 million colonial-era files, International Committee of the Red Cross files, the extensive Troubles collection at Linen Hall Library in Belfast, and many other sources. Drohan argues that when faced with human rights activism, British officials sought to evade, discredit, and deflect public criticism of their actions to avoid drawing attention to brutal counterinsurgency practices such as the use of torture during interrogation"-- Publisher's Web site.

Introduction : counterinsurgency and human rights in the post-1945 world -- A lawyers' war : emergency legislation and the Cyprus Bar Council -- The shadow of Strasbourg : international advocacy and Britain's response -- Hunger war : humanitarian rights and the Radfan campaign -- This unhappy affair : investigating torture in Aden -- A more talkative place : Northern Ireland -- Conclusion : from the colonial to the contemporary.