Extreme mass homicide: From military massacre to genocide

Whereas most genocides emphasize “efficient” slaughter, massacres are generally more cruel. Rape, torture, and mutilation typically precede killing. Many soldiers engage in these actions, although no information suggests they have propensities for rape, sexual sadism, or sadistic violence in civilian life. The extreme cruelty is therefore hard to explain using forensic trait theories. Social psychological theories of state-determined violence explain the transition to violence, if not the extremity observed. A suggestion is made for a form of forensic ethology that examines human actions in war settings based on survivor reports and tribunal transcripts and combines these with existing corroborative information on perpetrators.