Emotions, Ethics and Mass Atrocities

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.