Three Stories and Three Questions about Participation in Genocide

Abstract

This essay articulates the importance of focusing on behavioral actions in research on genocide rather than on categories of people. Then, through a brief review of research on dehumanization, it demonstrates how a focus on actions over actors helps explain behavioral variation in genocide. It also highlights the need for researchers to consider their own positionality when studying participation in genocide, as research on genocide is always fraught with complex questions of moral right and wrong.