Excusing the Self and Blaming Others: Participation in Genocide and the Fundamental Attribution Error

In the aftermath of genocide, individuals convicted of crimes develop explanations for both their own participation and that of others. While previous research has addressed the rationalizations and neutralizations put forth by those who commit genocidal violence, few have considered how these explanations compare to participants’ perceptions of the motives of their peers. Using the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as a case study, this article draws from in-depth interviews with 165 people convicted of genocide crimes to examine such accounts. We analyse their narratives to compare how they talk about their own crimes with how they talk about those of others. In doing so, we find partial support for what psychologists term the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), as participants predominantly attributed their own participation to external factors—like being coerced or forced to act by others—while more often attributing the participation of others to a combination of external and internal factors—like being greedy or evil. We connect these findings to existing research on accounts of participation in genocide and reflect on the implications of these narratives for the construction of collective memory and reconciliation in Rwanda.