Perpetrators of mass atrocities: terribly and terrifyingly normal?

The attacks on 9/11 as well as the ones in Madrid, London, Paris and Brussel; the genocides in Nazi Germany, Rwanda and Cambodia; the torture in dictatorial regimes; the wars in former Yugoslavia, Syria and Iraq and currently in Ukraine; the sexual violence during periods of conflict, all make us wonder: why would anyone do something like that? Who are these people? Drawing on thirty years of research, in this book Alette Smeulers explores the perpetrators of mass atrocities such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and terrorism. Examining questions of why people kill and torture and how mass atrocities can be explained, Smeulers presents a typology of perpetrators, with different ranks, roles and motives.
Devoting one chapter to each type of perpetrator, the book combines insights from academic research with illustrative case studies of well-known perpetrators, from dictators to middlemen, to lower ranking officials and terrorists. Their stories are explored in-depth as the book examines their behaviour and motivation. Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities thus provides a comprehensive understanding of the causes of extreme mass violence. Such knowledge can not only help the international criminal justice system to be able to attribute blameworthiness in a fairer way but can also assist in preventing such atrocities being committed on the current scale.