How Mass Atrocities End

Given the brutality of mass atrocities it is no wonder that one question dominates research and policy: what can we who are not at risk do to prevent such violence and hasten endings? But this question skips a more fundamental question for understanding the trajectory of violence: how do mass atrocities actually end? This volume presents an analysis of the processes decisions and factors that help bring about the end of mass atrocities. It includes qualitatively rich case studies from Burundi Guatemala Indonesia Sudan Bosnia and Iraq drawing patterns from wide-ranging data. As such it offers a much needed correction to the popular ''salvation narrative'' framing mass atrocity in terms of good and evil. The nuanced multidisciplinary approach followed here represents not only an essential tool for scholars but an important step forward in improving civilian protection.