Emotions, Ethics and Mass Atrocities : Perspectives from Scholars, Teachers and Practitioners / edited by Maartje Weerdesteijn, Alette Smeulers.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Smeulers, Alette, editor.

Weerdesteijn, Maartje, editor.

Series:

Human Rights and Humanitarian Law E-Books Online, Collection 2026.

Studies in International Criminal Law ; 9.

Human Rights and Humanitarian Law E-Books Online, Collection 2026

Studies in International Criminal Law ; 9

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Education.

Education, Higher.

Human Rights and Humanitarian Law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (292 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Perspectives from Scholars, Teachers and Practitioners

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

“I can vividly recall the feeling of exhaustion I felt listening to this harrowing account. … At the same time I felt a deep respect for this man who was able to tell his story with great serenity, and I was bothered by my own fatigue and loneliness, which felt so futile next to his.” An Michels, team leader at the Victims and Witnesses Section, International Criminal Court . Mass atrocities cause horrendous suffering. Scholars, students and practitioners who grapple with these crimes are continuously exposed to victims’ suffering, perpetrators’ ordinariness and imperfect transitional justice mechanisms. How do we cope with our emotions? What ethical implications then arise? Private conversations among colleagues have often taken place hesitantly, fearful it will distract from the actual work. This book, however, brings these conversations to the fore through a series of deeply personal and purposeful reflections to open up new and important conversations. Contributors are: Andy Aydin-Aitchison, Annalisa Battista, Thijs B. Bouwknegt, Anne-Marie de Brouwer, Patrick Cammaert, Koko Christiaanse, Marije Luitjens, Brianne McGonigle Leyh, An Michels, Caecilia Johanna van Peski, Furtuna Sheremeti, Alette Smeulers, Maartje Weerdesteijn and Martin Witteveen.

Contents:

Intro

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

Notes on Contributors

Introduction: Reflections on the Role of Emotions and Ethics

1 Introduction

2 Emotions and Ethics

3 The Emotions and Ethics of Scholars, Teachers and Practitioners

4 The Book

References

Part 1 Reflections from Scholars

Chapter 1 The Challenges of Studying Mass Atrocities and the Perpetrators thereof

2 Structure and Methodology

3 Getting Involved in Research on Mass Atrocities

4 Emotions Triggered by Research on Mass Atrocities

5 The Particular Difficulties of Doing Research on Perpetrators of Mass Atrocities

6 Face-to-Face with the Perpetrators

7 Is Looking into a Mirror the Hardest Part?

8 The Lack of Understanding and the Difference between Being an Outsider or Insider

9 The Impact of This Type of Research on the Scholar

10 The Importance of This Research

11 Recommendations for Future Students and Scholars

Chapter 2 An Anthropological Perspective: Dealing with Emotions when Conducting Ethnography in Conflict-Affected Areas

2 Dealing with Emotions before, during and after Ethnographic Fieldwork

2.1 Fieldwork Preparation

2.1.1 Lessons Learned

2.2 During the Fieldwork

2.2.1 Lessons Learned

2.3 After the Fieldwork

2.3.1 Lessons Learned

3 Conclusion: Institutional Responsibility

Chapter 3 When Researching War Crimes and Genocide is also Personal

2 Researching Atrocious Crimes: The Theory

3 Doing Research in Kosovo: The Practice

4 Maintaining Objectivity: In Theory and in Practice

4.1 Methodological Rigor

4.2 Peer Review and Collaboration

4.3 Reflective Practice

4.4 Emotional Distance

4.5 Ethical Considerations

5 Conclusion

Part 2 Reflections from Teachers.

Chapter 4 Concerning Mass Atrocity: A Personal Reflection on Studying and Teaching about Violence

1 Introduction: Fathoming Phantom Pain

2 Regarding Mass Violence

2.1 Contemplating Cause

2.2 Contemplating Coping

3 Teaching Mass Violence

4 Conclusion

Chapter 5 Emotions and Ethics in Teaching Mass Atrocities Using Archives

2 Scholarship on Teaching and Learning Sensitive Topics

2.1 Sensitive Material, Emotions and Harm

2.2 The Ethics of Representing Political Violence in the Classroom

2.3 Ethical Obligations and Good Practice in the Classroom

3 The Criminologies of Atrocity Course and Its Use of ICTY Archives

4 Data

5 Initial Survey Findings

6 Emotions and Atrocity Education: So I Let Myself Feel All of the Heavy Things

7 Ethics and Atrocity Education

7.1 You Can Never Fully Prepare Someone: Ethics in Class

7.2 Wanting It to Be as Ethical as Possible: Ethics after Class

7.3 Ethics of Law: Oh, I Can Critique the Lawyers

8 Conclusion: The Most Realistic Thing I Could Have Done in University

Chapter 6 Emotional Dimensions of Complex Learning Environments: Adopting a Trauma and Resilience-Informed Approach within a Global Justice Investigations Lab

2 Universities and the Rise of Digital Open-Source Investigation Labs

3 Trauma and Resilience-Informed Approaches within University Curricula

4 Global Justice Investigations Lab at Utrecht University and a Trauma and Resilience-Informed Approach

5 Results from Students on Their Expectations and Experiences around Our Trauma and Resilience-Informed Approach

5.1 Baseline Survey Results

5.2 Reflection Logs

5.3 Endline Survey Results.

6 The Necessity and Value for Students and Teaching in Adopting a Trauma and Resilience-Informed Approach in Open-Source Investigation Classrooms

7 Conclusion

Part 3 Reflections from Practitioners

Chapter 7 Emotions in International Criminal Justice: Where Do They Take Us?

2 Examples of Emotions

2.1 Trauma

2.2 Fear and Stress

2.3 Shame

2.4 Humor and Laughter

2.5 Disillusionment

2.6 Frustration, Anger, Disgust, Revulsion, Exhaustion and All of That

3 How Have Emotions Influenced Our Work or Decisions?

3.1 Our Decision-Making

3.2 Organizational Change

4 How Emotions Affected Me While Working in International Criminal Justice?

5 Disbelief and Faith

Chapter 8 The Toll it Takes: Working with and for Survivors and Eye-Witnesses of Atrocity Crimes

2 Looking Back

3 Trauma, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Vicarious Trauma, Compassion Fatigue, and Burnout

3.1 Trauma

3.2 Secondary Traumatic Stress

3.3 Vicarious Trauma

3.4 Compassion Fatigue

3.5 Burnout

4 A Cumulation of Risk Factors

5 The Power of Protective Factors

6 The Way Forward: Fostering Safety, Knowledge, Resilience, and Agency

Chapter 9 Working with Victims/Survivors of Genocidal Sexual Violence in Rwanda: A Personal Journey

2 Sexual Violence in Rwanda during the Genocide against the Tutsi in 1994

2.1 Sexual Violence in the 100 Days in Rwanda in 1994

2.2 Impact of CRSV

3 Working with Victims/Survivors in Different Capacities

3.1 The Work of an Academic

3.2 The Work of Solace Ministries and the Mukomeze Foundation: A Holistic Approach

3.2.1 Solace Ministries

3.2.2 The Mukomeze Foundation

3.3 The Work of impact: Center against Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence in Conflict.

3.4 The Work of Bèkske: Rwandan Empowerment Coffee

4 Developments in the Field of CRSV as an International Crime and Ethical and Survivor-Centered Approaches: A Short Overview

5 Vicarious Trauma: The Importance of Self-Care

6 Final Remarks

Chapter 10 'Wounded Healer': Symptoms in Professionals Deployed in the Context of International Crisis Response

1 Introduction: Deployed in the Context of International Crisis Response

1.1 Military, Police and International Civil Servants: A Foreign Legion

1.2 The Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements (Minsk i and ii)

2 Eye-Witnessing the Manifestations of Mass Violence and Crimes against People

2.1 The Shyrokyne (Mariupol Raion, Donetsk Oblast) Standoff (February-July 2015)

2.2 The Lost Children of Hranitne (Volnovakha Raion, Donetsk Oblast) (October 2014)

2.3 The Withdrawal of Heavy Weaponry at Kostiantynivka Quarry (Kramatorsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast) (February 24, 2015)

3 Life Imitates Art

3.1 'Kill Me Today, Tomorrow I'm Sick'

3.2 Fictive Mission Scenario's

3.3 A Filmic Exaggeration with (More Than?) a Grain of Truth in It

4 The 'Wounded Healer' Concept

4.1 The 'Wounded Healer' Concept and Moral Injury

4.2 Frontline Personnel and First Responders

5 Cultural Analogues between Jung's 'Wounded Healer' and Those Deployed in the Context of Crisis Response

5.1 Higher Levels of Mental Strength

5.2 The Consequences

6 The Motives of Those Opting for Deployment in the Context of Crisis Response

6.1 The (Unconscious) Way in Which We See Ourselves

6.2 Deeper Layers of Understanding One's Own Weaknesses and Wounds

7 Coping, Coping Strategies, and Coping Mechanisms

7.1 Sri Lanka Post-Tsunami Crisis Response (January 2006)

8 Know Thyself: The End Is My Own Beginning.

9 One Final Time: Closing Scene from Kill Me Today, Tomorrow I'm Sick

10 Conclusion

Chapter 11 How to Address Emotions from the Perspective of a Military Commander in UN Peace Operations

2 Yemen

3 Cambodia

4 Ethiopia and Eritrea

5 Democratic Republic of the Congo

6 South Sudan

7 Gaza

8 To Conclude

Conclusion

2 Between Our Places of Origin, the Sites We Visited, and the People We Meet

3 Between Caring, Coping, and Containing Emotions

4 Between Distance and Closeness

5 Between Positive and Negative Emotions

6 Acknowledging Emotions as Good Ethical Practice

7 A Final Reflection on This Book and Future Research

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

90-04-75472-5

9789004754720

OCLC:

1586549423

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004754720 DOI