Disappearing Act: Reconstructing the Crime of Disappearances in Times of Political Violence

DISACT will investigate the logic of the crime of disappearances in repressive and (post)conflict settings. Even though combatants have always gone missing on the battlefield, the purposeful disappearance of people is a relatively recent phenomenon. Around 1,000 people now disappear daily, with high levels of public attention to the phenomenon, yet we know relatively little about the historical origins of the crime, the rationale for violent (state and non-state) actors to deploy it, or the processes underpinning its international diffusion. In answering these questions, the project will draw on in-depth analysis of six carefully selected cases, each geared towards documenting a different stage or thematic manifestation in the historical evolution of disappearances. First, DISACT will use archival sources to examine how disappearances emerged in the context of the French colonial counterinsurgency in Algeria (1954-1962). It will then draw on rich ethnographic evidence of violence in Cyprus (1955-1974) to shed light on the logic of the crime in conflict settings. Next, DISACT will investigate the hitherto unexplored role of illiberal intergovernmental organizations in facilitating regional diffusion by analysing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Eurasia (2005-2020). Finally, the project will innovate methodologically by using forensic evidence to uncover the strategic logic of selective removal of remains of victims from original grave sites, comparing the experiences of Cyprus, Chile, and Bosnia. This comparative, interdisciplinary, and multimethod project will blend ethnographic, forensic, legal, and archival evidence to enrich the understanding of one of the most complex human rights violations of our time. Understanding the motives driving disappearances could identify the unexamined and interlinked dynamics of state repression, colonialism, violent conflict, and post-conflict accountability.