The man studying mechanisms behind genocide

Researcher profile

Tomislav Dulić in front of a book shelf.

Tomislav Dulić has mainly studied violence from a micro perspective. What is it that makes some people in a specific context participate in mass murder? Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

Tomislav Dulić is a historian and professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Uppsala University. In his research, he studies aspects including what makes certain people in a specific context participate in mass murder, using sociological and social psychological theories as a basis.

Dulić works at the Hugo Valentin Centre in Uppsala, whose mission is to promote and conduct research in the field of Holocaust and Genocide Studies. As a historian, he is keen to clarify what is meant by genocide, a word that is sometimes used carelessly in the media, among other places.

“The term ‘genocide’ is currently being used to mean very different things. Depending on the definition, including the legal one, basically everything from a single massacre to the Holocaust has been labelled as genocide,” explains Dulić.

He himself uses a definition close to that of international law, which emphasises what is called the “specific intent” of genocide.

“There is a very widespread interpretation that killing many people because they belong to a national, ethnic, religious or racially defined group is genocide. From a legal perspective, that is not the case. Rather, there must be an intent to destroy the group to which the individuals belong, in whole or in part, for it to be a case of genocide.”

Different forms of mass violence

In his research, Dulić uses geostatistical analysis to see if the systematic mass killing associated with genocide differs from other forms of mass violence. He studies aspects such as how the violence is affected by the aim of the perpetrator.

“If a perpetrator attempts to destroy an ethnic group, then the mass killings will proceed differently than if the perpetrator is trying to control territory by displacing an ethnic group.”

In the case of genocide, for example, there is often a desire to conceal the process. Attempts are made to rally the population in a way that makes the victims believe they will survive and which plays on their hopes.

“In the case of what is often referred to as ethnic cleansing, the aim is to drive out the population. They may kill thousands but the aim is not to destroy the group. In such cases, they force a large part of the population to flee by killing a limited proportion – and not entirely secretly. Or not at the local level, in any case.”

Controlling populations in war

Another example is when leaders want to control populations and territories, for example in the context of an occupation.

“This often involves what is known as selective killing, i.e. seeking out members of guerrilla groups and destroying them. But that information is not always available. Sometimes all of the men in a village are killed because it is known that 20 percent of them are part of the guerrilla group. In that case, the aim is not to destroy the group, nor to displace the population, but to control the population and the territory. Such violence therefore only affects areas where there is guerrilla activity and ceases once control is established.”

Tomislav sitter och läser vid ett skrivbord.

He is currently working on a book project about 4,000 Yugoslav prisoners of war. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt

This is what is known as a macro perspective on mass violence, but Dulić has mainly studied it from a micro perspective. What is it that makes some people in a specific context participate in mass murder?

Studies Yugoslav prisoners of war

He is currently working on a book project about 4,000 Yugoslav prisoners of war deported to Norway during World War II, 60 percent of whom died.

His doctoral project focused on the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and the violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina perpetrated by the Croatian fascist organisation Ustaša and the Serbian nationalist Četnici. He studied mobile operations in rural areas, where often the perpetrators did not know their victims at all.

The situation was very different in the camps in Norway.

“It can be assumed that it is easier to murder a person with whom you have no relationship at all. But in the case of the camps in Norway, there was contact between the guards and the Yugoslav slave labourers.”

Differences in social context

In his research, he is interested in how social interaction and communication were prevented in the camp, in order to maintain the guards’ stereotypical perceptions of the prisoners.

“What role do propaganda and ideology play and what impact do completely different factors in the social context have? That is, as a guard, you have certain tasks to fulfil – and you have absolute power.”

Normally, there is a legal system that tells us which actions are acceptable, and because we are generally keen for the world to perceive us as doing good things, we refrain from breaking laws and social norms.

“But what if you suddenly switch to a context where your family has been replaced by a group of people to whom you must show loyalty because you are dependent on them? You have to share the burden with these colleagues to make them trust you and, in a war situation, maybe save your life.”

Encountering tragic life stories

One of the challenges of his research is the tragic lives and horrific acts he encounters in historical documents and testimonies.

“The violence itself is not the difficult part; that can often be managed. But the less mainstream incidents can be hard to handle.”

For example, he listened to an account of a camp in Latvia during World War II created to murder Jews. First, the men would be murdered, so they were separated from the women and children. Then the women would be murdered and the children left behind.

“Finally, the perpetrators would lead the children to the execution site, and what happens when a child follows a middle-aged man? Well, one of the men told me that the child held his hand. That type of snapshot can be difficult to deal with, especially when it involves young children.”

Annica Hulth

Facts: Tomislav Dulić

Title: Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the Hugo Valentin Centre, Uppsala University.

In your spare time: Carpentry at the summer cottage, fishing and occasionally playing chess.

Latest book read: Histoire de la Résistance by Olivier Wieviorka.

Driving force as a researcher: Curiosity and a desire to understand.

When/where I get my best ideas: When I’m driving or working with my hands.

Pathway into research: Actually, I was originally interested in languages (Russian, Serbian/Croatian/Bosnian) and Russian history. However, during my studies at the Department of Eastern European Studies, I switched to Balkan history on the advice of Kristian Gerner.

The decisive factor was probably that I was working at the Centre for Multiethnic Research in the summer of 1998. This took place around the same time as the government decided to establish the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Programme. Within a year I had applied and been accepted as a doctoral student with Jan Lindegren and Kjell Magnusson as my supervisors.

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