Introduction: Reflections on the Boundaries of Perpetrator Studies - Violence, Politics, and Harm

The introduction to the special issue examines the epistemological boundaries of perpetrator studies, highlighting the tension between treating perpetration as an empirical fact and critically interrogating the category of the perpetrator itself. It identifies three conceptual threads: the gap between legal and analytical categories, the instability of the perpetrator-victim binary, and the role of discourse in legitimising violence. The four contributions, covering colonial violence, European immigration detention, Argentine transitional justice, and digital violence, extend the field into new territory while testing its limits. Shared themes include applying perpetrator studies frameworks to non-traditional contexts and themes, locating responsibility within diffuse institutional structures, and the role of discourse in enabling or obscuring harm.