On the margins: role shifting in atrocity

Jessee, E. (2022) On the margins: role shifting in atrocity. In: Holá, B., Brehm, H. N. and Weerdesteijn, M. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes. Oxford University Press: Oxford, pp. 329-350. ISBN 9780190915629 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190915629.013.14)

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Abstract

This chapter critically assesses the dichotomy of victims/survivors and perpetrators that proliferates in the media and other public discourses about genocide and related mass atrocities, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. Drawing on over a decade of oral historical and ethnographic research on the 1994 genocide in Rwanda—in which approximately 800,000 civilians, most of whom were Tutsi, were murdered by Hutu Power extremists—this chapter argues that most people’s experiences of mass atrocities are more complex than this dichotomy permits, and often includes actions that challenge the boundaries among victim/survivor, bystander, rescuer, and perpetrator categories. It thus advocates for considering genocide-affected individuals as “complex political actors” whose actions exist along a spectrum of genocidal violence. This allows for deeper consideration of the shifting roles that people take on during periods of extreme violence, and in response to shifts in their nation’s political climate and personal circumstances.

Item Type:Book Sections
Keywords:Rwandan Genocide, perpetrators, victims, survivors, bystanders, rescuers, complex political actors.
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Jessee, Dr Erin
Authors: Jessee, E.
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISBN:9780190915629
Published Online:18 March 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 Oxford University Press
First Published:First published in The Oxford Handbook of Atrocity Crimes: 329-350
Publisher Policy:Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy

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