system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How do governments and insurgent/terrorist groups justify and rationalise atrocities like genocide and terrorism?

I have trouble understanding how people could support and participate in a genocide like they did in Rwanda or Islamic terrorists could kill innocent civilians and think that they are the good guys. What do these people tell themselves when they sleep at night? how much must have they dehumanised their victims?
gpt
Genocide continues because of warped ideologies, political circumstances and economic power. These ideologies are formed through social movements, mass media and propaganda. Furthermore, the ideologies are tied in with historical conflicts. For example, the Nazis used scientific racism, anti-Semitism and propaganda to blame Jews for Germany’s economic collapse after WWI. “Genocide has two phases: one, destruction of the national pattern of the oppressed group; the other the imposition of the national pattern of the oppressor” (Jones, 10). Essentially, maintaining economic power is one motive for perpetrators of ethnocide. For instance, the Nazi party believed that German land was for German natives. Consequently, Hitler used the concept of “Lebensraum” [living space] as justification for German expansion and Jewish extermination. 

In his essay, “Perpetrators of Genocide”, James Waller asks the question of why people commit extraordinary evil. As a result of propaganda, the brainwashed individual becomes the catalyst for systematic genocide. For example, during the Rwandan genocide, the mass killing of Tutsi civilians was propagated by the Hutu government. Thus, “the process of brutalization . . . includes a gradual desensitization or habituation to atrocities in which initial, relatively inconsequential, evil actions make later evildoing easier” (Waller, 20). Essentially, this is a slippery slope because it makes killing easier. Since the individual is following orders, the authority becomes responsible for the action. Logically speaking, since the first kill is immoral, all future kills will still be immoral. Thus, this paradox is a trap.

Regarding genocide, general intent implies that individuals did not plan to exterminate native populations. In this case, genocide resulted as a consequence of other factors, such as greed and power. (ex. Removal of the Native Americans from their lands by colonialists). On the other hand, specific intent implies that genocide is meticulously planned and executed. In this case, individuals that engage in genocidal crimes do so willingly, intentionally and with a particular goal in mind. The result is a planned genocide against an ethnic, racial, or religious group. The distinction between specific intent and general intent is important because the former is accidental, or the result of other factors and the latter is systematically planned and organized by state bureaucracies.

Denying the evidence of genocide is the first step in the denial process. Usually, the perpetrators of genocide destroy evidence and silence witnesses in order to cover up the genocide. Furthermore, questioning the validity of evidence and attacking the truth tellers allows the perpetrators to manipulate historical events. For example, they are able to accuse the truth tellers of committing atrocities themselves. (ex. Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) during WWII). In addition, the perpetrators of genocide can also blame the victims by claiming that they were insurgents and infidels. Denying genocide for current interests is another strategy which reinforces relations with the perpetrators of genocide. The alliance is based on benefits such as oil, military bases and free trade. Finally, denying genocidal intent and denying facts that fit the definition of genocide are clever ways to exploit the ambiguities of the legal terminologies regarding genocide. Overall, denial is important because it deflects blame from the perpetrators of genocide.

Jones, A. (2010). *Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction*; Ch. 1: The Origins of Genocide

Waller, J. (2009). Perpetrators of genocide: An explanatory model of extraordinary human evil. *Journal of Hate Studies*, 1(1), 5 -22.