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This dissertation explores when, how, and why accountability is provided for mass atrocities. It asks why post-atrocity governments often put in place institutions that superficially resemble accountability mechanisms but lack the capacity to deliver justice. It theorizes the creation of these institutions as an example of a broader pattern in human rights behavior, called “quasi-compliance” and argues that the uneven enforcement of human rights norms incentivizes states to gamble on doing just enough to escape penalty. The theory is tested on an original cross-national dataset of mass atrocities committed between 1970 and 2014 and finds that the characteristics of post-atrocity governments that deliver justice and those that create quasi-compliant accountability institutions are very different. While robust trials and truth commissions are only pursued when domestic politics favors it, quasi-compliant institutions are put in place to deflect international censure for failure to abide by the global accountability norm requiring criminal prosecutions for mass atrocities. The mechanisms underlying quasi-compliance are explored in two qualitative case studies, drawing on fieldwork in Sri Lanka and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Since the end of the Cold War, the United Nations Security Council (‘UNSC’) has taken a leading role in investigating atrocities. Yet, the UNSC has only investigated atrocities committed in eleven out of the ninety-two states that have experienced atrocities during this period. This dissertation examines the reasons behind this disparity. To do so, this dissertation examines how past studies on atrocities investigations do not account for the work of the UNSC in this field, and how past studies on the UNSC cannot explain its actions on atrocities investigations. Instead, by relying on historical records and interviews with decision-makers, this dissertation argues that the UNSC’s decisions on which atrocities to investigate are committee projects, which can only be understood through the prism of the UNSC’s decision-making process. Because of the constraints imposed by the UNSC process, an atrocities investigation will take place only after (i) a diplomat brings specific atrocities to the attention of the UNSC, (ii) an independent commission of inquiry supports the creation of an atrocities investigation, and (iii) the UNSC members become comfortable with the text of the authorizing resolution. This dissertation examines the political decisions behind each of these three steps and highlights how the decision-making process guides and influences the UNSC’s actions. By doing so, it provides an explanation on the aforementioned double standard in the UNSC’s work vis-à-vis atrocities.

Violence, Atrocity and the Behaviour of Pro-Government Armed Groups Bronia Naorni Flett ABSTRACT This thesis explores the existence and behaviour of the under-researched and under- theorised pro-government armed group (PGAG). The core research question is: Why do POAOs behave violently? I define a PGAG as a group that is armed, organised and connected to government. Detailed evidence on PGAGs is limited and typically collected on a case-by-case basis by historians, anthropologists and journalists. The pro-government militia database (www.abdn.ac.uk/rnilitias) is the first project to collect evidence on these groups in a systematic manner. The database finds POAOs existing and operating in diverse environments; they are frequently violent and commit human rights abuses. The empirical contribution of this thesis is to collect further detailed evidence on the behaviour of PGAGs in three diverse cases: the notorious militias in Yugoslavia, the under-researched peasant militias in Peru and the well-regarded International Brigades in Spain.

The myths and rumours that circulated during the First World War originated with soldiers and the general public, excepting atrocity stories. The British population used these myths and rumours to construct a discourse to explain its involvement in the First World War. This discourse reconciled the experience and understanding of civilians with the new era of Total War, offering hope and consolation in a time of crisis. It also acted as a form of mass, popularly produced propaganda which promulgated pro-war views that supported the British and Allied causes, while demonising the Germans and their methods of warfare. Belief in myths and rumours was equated with patriotism, and criticism decried as pro-German and un-British. The myths were widely disseminated and widely believed by important sections of the population. They drew on concepts palatable to British civilians: ideas of ‘just’ war and a moral cause; the nobility of their sacrifices; the bestiality of the enemy; and the necessity for the subordination of all else to the war effort. Myths about atrocities, spies and the paranormal helped the British public to survive a war that surpassed previous human and disquietude, but also experience. They also hinted at vulnerability, while expressing the unequivocal support which the majority offered the British war effort.

World history has been punctuuted by cycles of violence, regardless of time, region or race. Genocide. which is the worst form of violence has always led to horrible impacts of a social, economic and environmental nature. The last decade of the 20th Century was the most turbulent Rwanda has ever seen. The country was ravaged by civil war,genocide, mass migration. economic crisis. diseases, return of refugees and deforestation. Almost all Rwandan families were affected wherever they were and at multiple levels, by outcomes such as death, disease, disability, poverty, loss of dignity and imprisonment. Fortunately, the people of Rwanda have chosen the path of peace. but arc still faced with a huge task of dealiing with the impacts or the genocide and prior conflicts in the region. This dissertation attempts to investigate the socio-economic impacts of the genocide on current development in Rwanda using primClry and secondary data obtained from fieldwork undertaken in Cyangugu and Rutare Towns. The conceptual basis for the study was the Geography of Conflict, The general conclusion reached was that the causes and consequences of the Rwandan genocide are multidimensional. The Rwandan genocide did not originate from the "ancient hatred" between Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups, but from the manipulation of history and bad leadership. Also. the main impacts of genocide in Rwanda are the destruction of human resources. social and cultural structures in the country, especially the relationship between the Hutus and Tutsis ethnic groups. In the same way the genocide resulted in destruction of infrastructure. development facilities and natural resources, However. the effort for reconstruction and development undertaken after the genocide shows that rcconciliation is possible in long term despite what happened. The lasting solution for Rwanda is definitely national reconciliation and its success will depend mainly on good governance, human resource development and poverty alleviation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2008.

This thesis uses the war crimes investigations carried out by the Wehrmacht between 1939-1945 to explore the creation and development of the narrative which the Nazi regime constructed to justify its war of aggression, conquest, and extermination. This source has been sorely underused and provides deep insight into the regime's official narrative - a narrative which seems fundamentally at odds with its true aims and its murderous actions. It claimed that the Reich was waging a war in self-defence and for humanitarian reasons. These justifications were designed to convince both the German population and international audiences. The regime did not simply lie, however, but gathered empirical evidence which it then used selectively to legitimise the war. By reconstructing this process, the thesis aims to understand the degree to which the regime was able to make its arguments convincing. This allows us to better understand how it was possible to mobilise so many ordinary Germans to support and fight the war and, indeed, to perpetrate horrendous crimes. In particular, this thesis seeks to explore the tension between the official narrative and the Reich's own crimes, arguing that these two were not diametrically opposed, but that there was a direct justificatory link between them. Crucial in this context was the degree to which the regime could portray its criminal actions as a response to those of the enemy. In doing so, this thesis develops on a historiography which has acknowledged the importance of the regime's justificatory framework, but which has yet to study the foundations on which this was based and how it developed over the course of the war. In short, this is a study of the German narrative of victimhood which underpinned the brutal war of extermination.

Why do some soldiers racialize, and eventually dehumanize, both enemy combatants and non-combatant civilians during military conflicts? This project will trace the ways in which soldiers’ experiences in combat and the resultant trauma may lead to the development of racialized threat perceptions. Racialized threat perceptions are a belief system that teaches soldiers to view all members (combatants, noncombatants, and civilians) of a specific race as “the enemy” regardless their role in combat. This racialized threat perception leads to indiscriminate violence against all individuals in the militarized jurisdiction, including women, children, and the elderly, resulting in atrocities. Racism, racially motivated violence, and violent extremism all have a complex web of origins and drivers that this paper does not have the space to fully explore. Racism against the Asian American Pacific Islander community in the United States can point to institutionalized roots in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 or explicitly racist propaganda during the Second World War or individual prejudices that appear to manifest ex nihil. The goal of this paper, however, is to analyze an understudied source of racism and racially motivated violence in the United States: counterinsurgency warfare. By conducting process tracing through 100 years of U.S. military expeditions abroad, this paper will demonstrate an additional generative source of racism and violence that continues to shape our world. I present a novel theory that explains how combat generates racialized threat perceptions in the mind of a soldier, how those racialized threat perceptions erode the ethics of the soldier and eventually return home with him. These three mechanisms include: call to civilize, psychological insecurity, and inability to discriminate between friend and foe. I specifically look at three case studies to understand the mechanisms behind a racialized threat perception over the past century: the War in the Philippines, the Vietnam War, and the Forever Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The paper concludes by demonstrating how this racialized threat perception generated during combat “comes home” with soldiers and impacts American society after the war has ended.

Thesis (MPhil (Philosophy))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Are violent and non-violent mass atrocities morally different? According to the United Nations, they are. But why? The answer to this question is important as it in part determines our obligations to people living in other countries. This thesis seeks to determine if violent and non-violent mass atrocities are morally different and, if not, whether the latter should be included under the United Nations’ doctrine of the responsibility to protect. In order to do this, the thesis first examines the conditions under which sovereignty exists in order to understand when intervention can occur. It also analyzes just war theory to discern when military intervention to halt nonviolent mass atrocities is justified. Having established these two concepts, the thesis then presents three arguments for why non-violent mass atrocities are morally indistinguishable from violent ones and should also be included under the doctrine of the responsibility to protect. A discussion of the feasibility of implementing this extension and the long-term effects of these types of interventions follows. Finally, the thesis contains three case studies in order to apply the arguments presented earlier. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Is daar ‘n morele verskil tussen gewelddadige en nie-gewelddadige gruweldade? Volgens die Verenigde Nasies is daar so ‘n verskil, maar hoekom? Die antwoord tot hierdie vraag is deels belangrik omdat dit ons verantwoordelikhede tot mense in ander lande bepaal. In hierdie tesis word daar gepoog om te bepaal of daar so ‘n verskil tussen gewelddadige en nie-gewelddadige gruweldade is, en, indien nie, of nie-gewelddadige gruweldade ook moet tel onder die Verenige Nasies se verantwoordelikheid om te beskerm. Die tesis poog eerstens om die kondisies vir soewereiniteit te bepaal ten einde te probeer verstaan wanneer ‘n intervensie moreel regverdigbaar is. Dit analiseer ook die teorie van geregverdigde oorlogvoering ten einde te bepaal wanneer militêre inmenging om nie-gewelddadige gruweldade stop te sit geregverdig is. Na hierdie twee konsepte ondersoek is word daar drie argumente verskaf om aan te toon dat nie-gewelddadige gruweldade nie moreel onderskeibaar is van gewelddadige gruweldade nie, en dus dat nie-gewelddadige gruweldade onder die verantwoordelikheid om te beskerm behoort te tel. Dit word gevolg deur ‘n bespreking van die praktiese haalbaarheid van die implementering van so ‘n uitbreiding van die verantwoordelikheid om te beskerm, asook ‘n bespreking van die langtermyn effekte van hierdie tipes intervensies. Die tesis eindig met drie gevallestudies ten einde die argumente wat reeds gemaak is toe te pas.

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Technology: Public Management, Durban University of Technology. South Africa, 2014. / Between 1983 and 1987, an estimated 20 000 people from Matebeleland and parts of Midlands Province in Zimbabwe were killed in an operation code named Gukurahundi by state security agents; mostly the Central Intelligence Organisation and a battalion [5th Brigade] especially trained for this operation. Since that time no official apology or any form of healing process has been proffered by the ZANU PF government which was responsible for these atrocities. As a result, most communities in these areas have never been afforded opportunities to openly talk about their experiences and to seek relief for their painful memories of the past. If anything, the government has continued to cause enduring pain by periodically actively suppressing any such attempts. It has become an accepted norm that after violent conflicts that programmes aimed at reconciliation, healing and forgiveness should be undertaken as part of the peacebuilding efforts. Where such has not occurred, there is a fear that there might be a return to violence at some point in that country or community. The question that this research seeks to answer is whether, in view of the absence of any apology or official healing programme, these communities can heal themselves? Using a participatory action research approach, this research sheds some light on what communities could possibly do on their own to deal with their hurts. It also identifies conditions that would make such healing sustainable and what currently prevents that from taking place. It finds that through a broadly-based array of actions such as creating safe and empathetic spaces for storytelling, both verbal and written, group-based healing workshops and other psychosocial approaches, as well as a critical analysis of participants’ contexts in order to understand what needs transformation, it is possible for traumatised communities to attain a measure of relief from their emotional and psychological wounds. It also finds that this relief could be more sustainable if certain conditions were eliminated.