Introduction

Each time the news reports on a mass atrocity (a genocide, crime against humanity, war crime or terror attack) I ask myself: Who would do something like that? Who are these people. My initial research revealed that most perpetrators are very ordinary people in very particular circumstances who have gradually transformed into perpetrators. Many are as Hannah Arendt called it ‘terribly and terrifyingly normal’, which is a shocking finding. And yet: not all perpetrators are the same. Perpetrators differ in role, rank and motive. In this introduction, the methodology used to come to a typology of perpetrators is briefly described and the 14 perpetrator types I distinguished are introduced: the Criminal Mastermind at the top of the chain of command, followed by his close associates: the Fanatics and Careerists. The Devoted Warriors are often in the middle cadre and then the many subordinates: the Professionals, True Believers, Holy Warriors, Avengers, Profiteers, Criminals, Predators, Deranged, Followers and the Compromised Perpetrators. Each chapter of the book will be focusing on one specific type of perpetrator and will provide illustrative case studies.