Thy Brother’s Keeper? The Relationship between Social Distance and Intensity of Dehumanization during Genocide

Abstract

This paper puts forth the hypothesis that the degree of social distance between perpetrator and victim groups prior to the outbreak of genocide is inversely related to the degree of severity of dehumanization employed by the perpetrator group during genocide. Derived from psychological theory, this hypothesis is illustrated by using a primarily literature-based method of analysis combined with a vignette-designed severity of dehumanization scale. Three genocides are compared: the Rwandan Genocide, the Holocaust as it occurred in Western Europe, and the Holocaust as it occurred in Eastern Europe. The findings for Rwanda and the Holocaust in Eastern Europe show a negative correlation between the two variables, confirming the hypothesis. The results for Western Europe, however, present somewhat of an anomaly; variations in the extermination policies of the German perpetrators in Eastern and Western Europe correspond to this difference and can, in this case, provide a possible explanation for the incongruity.

Dehumanization amidst massacres: An examination of Dinka-Nuer intergroup attitudes in South Sudan.

“…From a theoretical perspective contexts such as Darfur, Rwanda, or Bosnia & Herzegovina share similarities with South Sudan. Notably, these contexts have all experienced high levels of inter-group violence, have a clear ethnic dimension, and display inter-group dehumanization (Hagan & Rymond-Richmond, 2008;Haagensen & Croes, 2012;Čehajić, Brown, & González 2009). Thus, the theoretical argument on how recent events structure dehumanizing attitudes is likely to be applicable to contexts that share these characteristics.…”

The Complexity of Evil

“…This framework is created by, on the one hand, demonstrating the moral legitimacy of the killing while, on the other hand, also removing the victims from the circle of obligation and responsibility (Browning [1994(Browning [ ] 2001Fein 1990, 37-39). This, in turn, distances and dehumanizes the victims themselves (Haagensen and Croes 2012).…”

“…Referred to frequently across the genocide lit er a ture, the dehumanization of the victim group is a pro cess that can be observed in most genocides, albeit to differing degrees (Haagensen and Croes 2012). Dehumanization is defined as a "pro cess by which the perpetrators come to perceive their victims as 'not human' or 'subhuman' " (Lang 2010, 225) and as such is one of the most extreme forms of ingroup-outgroup discriminations.…”

The Human Rights Torture Novel

“…When humans are dehumanized ‘principles of morality no longer apply to them and moral restraints against killing are more readily overcome’ (Kelman , 48). Social distance determines the severity of dehumanization perpetrated (Haagensen & Croes ). Dehumanization enables the perpetrator to ignore individual persons and focus on types or racial/ethnic categories (Byrd , 108–109; Savage ).…”