“Ideal Perpetrator” – Social-construction and Politics of Accountability: A Study of the French National Railroad (SNCF)

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

Scholars increasingly consider the social construction victimhood and the impact of embodying the “ideal victim.”  While victims and perpetrators remain discursively linked, the “ideal perpetrator” remains a less theorized position both in the context of small and large scale violence. Mass atrocity requires the participation of numerous parties. Yet, only a few find themselves held accountable legally or publically. How are these few selected? Who is expunged? Through a study of the contemporary debates regarding the role of French National Railroad (SNCF) in the WWII transport of deportees towards death camps, this article considers the factors contributing to who or what becomes the proverbial fall man and who walks away. Based on these factors, this paper proposes a framework for what constitutes an “ideal perpetrator.” Like the SNCF, they must 1) be abstractable and a safe distance from us, 2) represent the overall nature of the crime, and 3) have a sponsor/donor that repeatedly focuses attention in the perpetrator’s direction. The study is based on over 120 interviews with the conflict parties as well as pro bono work in the U.S. State Department, the House of Representatives and The Washington Post.

Author

• Sarah Federman, University of Baltimore