The purpose of the research project is to analyse the reactions to mass violence, that is the most serious atrocities that are generally committed in the framework of conflicts, that disrupt social coexistence and that call for a reaction if not from local institutions from international ones. The dilemma of such situations is that justice and international law call for redress and punishment whereas the immediate priority might be pacification and national reconciliation. Thus, the ultimate goal of the research project is to understand which measures are recommended after the occurrence of such traumatic events. The analysis will be carried out through a multidisciplinary approach because that situations raise a multiplicity of issues from the different perspective of political, legal, social, historical, psychological studies.
In particular, our local unit will address the phenomena and strategies of denial of mass atrocities pursued by political actors who are willing and able to escape accountability for their crimes. This is very often the case with the winners of armed conflicts (both civil and international), and particularly with the dominant powers in the international hierarchy of power and prestige.