Behind every atrocity are human stories we'd rather not face. In episode 15 of WARFUN's podcast Heidi Mogstad talks with Eva van Roekel about her research on Argentina’s Dirty War. Together they explore the unsettling ethics of studying soldiers accused of atrocities—and how their voices disrupt our moral and political certainties.
Van Roekel explores the ethical and emotional challenges of researching perpetrators of mass violence. She and Mogstad discuss how engaging with soldiers accused of atrocities complicates moral assumptions, challenges conventional theories of violence, and offers insights into memory, justice, and the lingering impact of Argentina’s Dirty War. Their conversation reveals how studying perpetrators can deepen our understanding of human behavior and the shadows of conflict.
Eva van Roekel is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Heidi Mogstad is Senior Researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway.
WARFUN is a research project funded by the European Research Council and led by Antonio De Lauri at the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Norway. The project investigates the plurality of experiences, the emotional implications, and the narratives of war from the perspective of those who fight.
Through these conversations, the WARFUN podcast aims to offer a more nuanced understanding of what it means to be at war and how war blurs the boundaries between the extraordinary and the ordinary.