The Pinochet Affair: State Terrorism and Global Justice, by Roger Burbach

Abstract

While most accounts of the prosecution of Augusto Pinochet focus on the undoubtedly dramatic progression of Pinochet's case in the British courts, Roger Burbach takes a different tack, construing The Pinochet Affair to include the pre- and post-history surrounding the British proceedings. Burbach draws on his personal familiarity with Chile since the 1970s-he fled the country during Pinochet's coup overthrowing Salvador Allende - and interviews with prominent figures in the Chilean human rights movement, judiciary, and political sphere. He constructs a picture of Augusto Pinochet as calculating his ascent to power, developing the necessary personality to order atrocities in pursuit of power, and using various tactics to avoid prosecution in Chile after his detention in London. Burbach tells a lucid story beginning with Pinochet's early years and continuing through Pinochet's recent evasion of Chilean courts. Burbach's access to key players in Chile provides especially good insight into the Chilean attempts to prosecute Pinochet since his return from London.