Skip to navigation – Site map

HomeCall for ContributorsCall for papers - openIssue 25 - Winter 2025 (War Crime...

Issue 25 - Winter 2025 (War Crimes and Mass Violence)

TWENTY-FIFTH ISSUE - “War Crimes and Mass Violence

Issue 25 Guest Editor: Katerina Sviderska, Cambridge, UK
Issue Editors: Anastasia Fomitchova, Coline Maestracci, Ben McVicker

In the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the documentation and analysis of war crimes, mass violence, and genocide have emerged as central themes in understanding the conflict and its global implications.. The Journal of Power Institutions in Post-Soviet Societies invites submissions for its 25th issue dedicated to exploring the complex and multifaceted topic of mass violence and war crimes. This issue aims to bring together scholarly research from diverse disciplines to examine how mass violence is perpetrated, remembered, and addressed in the regions of Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, with a focus on terminology, decision-making processes, historical and mnemonic perspectives, justice, and societal impacts.

 

Submission Guidelines
We invite contributions from scholars, experts, and practitioners working in political science, history, sociology, international law, and related fields. Both theoretical and empirical studies are welcome.

Manuscripts should include :

  • Title, abstract (250 words), and 5 keywords.

  • Full paper (6,000–8,000 words), including footnote references.

  • Author’s name, institutional affiliation, and contact details.

Formatting: Please follow the journal’s guidelines for submissions, available at https://journals.openedition.org/pipss/169
Language: We encourage authors to write in English, but we also accept submissions in French, Ukrainian and Russian.

Abstract submission deadline : April 30th, 2025
Paper submission deadline: End of October 2025

Contact: Please send your abstracts and any inquiries to pipss.journal@gmail.com

Themes and Research Questions

We welcome papers addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

1. Terminology Issues and Decision-Making Process in Mass Violence

  • What criteria and contributing factors distinguish war crimes, massacres, and genocide (e.g., coordinated action, systemic issues, psychological or individual factors)?

  • Is there a proper methodology to analyze acts of mass killing and identify patterns?

  • How has discourse on mass violence varied in its frameworks and audiences?

  • What roles do command structures, paramilitary groups, and state doctrines play in perpetrating massacres during armed conflicts?

2. Historical Perspectives

  • Memory and Commemoration:

    • Commemoration and memorialization of war crimes and massacres in Eastern Europe, South Caucasus and Central Asia. 

    • The interplay between the historical memory of atrocities and the framing of military service in constructing national identities.

    • The impact of war crimes and massacres on diaspora communities' identity and political advocacy.

  • Construction of National Identity:

    • How have war crimes and massacres been mobilized in state narratives across different cases in the region (e.g., Ukraine, Chechnya, Tajikistan, Yugoslavia)?

    • How has the remembrance of war crimes and mass violence shaped national historical narratives since 1991?

  • Propaganda and Legitimization Systems:

    • The legitimization of wartime massacres through education systems.

    • The role of social media in shaping understandings and competing historicization of war crimes.

3. Justice and Society

  • International Law

    • How has the documentation of atrocities evolved and affected their prosecution and historicization?

    • Responses from international organizations, such as the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, and the International Criminal Court to mass violence in the region.

    • Roles played by NGOs like the Red Cross and Amnesty International.

  • Trauma and Society

    • What are the long-term psychological and social effects of war crimes and massacres on societies?

    • How does intergenerational trauma manifest itself?

4. Resistance and Resilience

  • What forms of resistance and resilience have emerged in response to war crimes and massacres?

Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search