The Road to Hell: Neutralization of Killing in War. Issue 7 (2nd July 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kooistra, Paul G.; Mahoney, John S.
• Is Part Of: Deviant behavior. Volume 37:Issue 7(2016)
• Page Start: 761
• Page End: 783
• Publication Date: 2016-07-02
• Subjects: Deviant behavior -- Periodicals; 302.54205
• DOI: 10.1080/01639625.2016.1140993
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0163-9625

Abstract

ABSTRACT: We explore how societies convince citizens to "go to hell, " where they kill strangers and risk their own lives. Our premise is that killing is difficult for most, regardless of context and widely considered a form of extreme deviance. Using Sykes and Matza's techniques of neutralization, we show how this aversion to killing is neutralized by placing individuals in organized—both macro-level bureaucratic and micro-level small primary groups—to justify killing. Consequently, the neutralization of mass killing illustrates the role of power in defining deviance, and the failure of neutralizations may sometimes explain Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.