Understanding Individual Motivations and Deterrents: Interviews with Genocide Perpetrators from Rwanda and Cambodia

In this study, I present the results of interviews with 49 former genocide perpetrators from Rwanda and 51 former members of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to better understand their motivations and deterrents for participating in mass atrocities. I will contrast these qualitative interviews with experimental research from psychology and neuroscience to offer an interdisciplinary approach to better understand their participation. The findings from the interviews show that a vast majority of respondents identified obedience to authority as a primary factor in their involvement. Many also cited the significant influence of group dynamics, particularly in Rwanda where many murders were carried out by armed groups. These reports align with two main forms of social influence: obedience to authority and conformity. Research in psychology and neuroscience has shown that obeying orders or conforming to a group can strongly alter our behaviors by affecting several brain processes. When questioned about deterrents, a majority from both groups conceded that without intervention from an external military force, they would not have stopped participating on their own. This finding is pivotal as it emphasizes the necessity of external intervention to stop mass atrocities.