Jon Zittrain, director of Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center, made valiant efforts as moderator of the session on security and civil liberties. He teased and cajoled the panellists and generated a lively debate on topics ranging from the treatment of prisoners in Camp X-Ray to identity cards to the International Court of Justice.
But with the best will in the world, Davos remains a very civil place. I was surprised that Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, didn’t lay into Republican senator Orrin Hatch. She said the right things — “Human rights isn’t an obstacle to security. It’s key to security” — but was polite, not incensed.