Political Repression. Linda Camp Keith

      Cingranelli and Richards (1999b) have created another measure that is useful in capturing the level of state repression. Their physical integrity rights measures are somewhat similar to Gibney and Stohl’s Political Terror Scale, but four components of repression (imprisonment, torture, disappearances, and killings) are measured separately on a three-point scale that captures the frequency of violations: frequent (fifty or more) violations (0), some (one to fifty) violations (1), and no violations (2). The authors note that their categories rest on events-based criteria whenever possible: countries with 50 of more confirmed violations are scored zero; countries with less than 50 violations but than zero confirmed violations are scored one; and countries with no violations are scored two. A brief description of the variables follows (for the fuller description see http://ciri.binghamton.edu/documentation.asp).

      Disappearance: Disappearances are cases in which people have disappeared, political motivation appears likely, and the victims have not been found. Knowledge of the whereabouts of the disappeared is, by definition, not public knowledge. However, while there is typically no way of knowing where victims are, it is typically known by whom they were taken and under what circumstances. A score of 0 indicates that disappearances have occurred frequently in a given year; a score of 1 indicates that disappearances occasionally occurred; and a score of 2 indicates that disappearances did not occur in a given year.

      Extrajudicial Killing: Extrajudicial killings are killings by government officials without due process of law. They include murders by private groups if instigated by government. These killings may result from the deliberate, illegal, and excessive use of lethal force by the police, security forces, or other agents of the state whether against criminal suspects, detainees, prisoners, or others. A score of 0 indicates that extrajudicial killings were practiced frequently in a given year; a score of 1 indicates that extrajudicial killings were practiced occasionally; and a score of 2 indicates that such killings did not occur in a given year.

      Political Imprisonment: Political imprisonment refers to the incarceration of people by government officials because of: their speech; their nonviolent opposition to government policies or leaders; their religious beliefs; their nonviolent religious practices, including proselytizing; or their membership in a group, including an ethnic or racial group. A score of 0 indicates that there were many people imprisoned because of their religious, political, or other beliefs in a given year; a score of 1 indicates that a few people were imprisoned; and a score of 2 indicates that no persons were imprisoned for any of the above reasons in a given year.

      Torture: Torture refers to the purposeful inflicting of extreme pain, whether mental or physical, by government officials or by private individuals at the instigation of government officials. Torture includes the use of physical and other force by police and prison guards that is cruel, inhuman, or degrading. This also includes deaths in custody due to negligence by government officials. A score of 0 indicates that torture was practiced frequently in a given year; a score of 1 indicates that torture was practiced occasionally; and a score of 2 indicates that torture did not occur in a given year. (http://ciri.binghamton.edu/documentation/ciri_variables_short_descriptions.pdf)