We live in a world in which many major armed conflicts – wars, have taken place throughout history. Among other things, very inhumane things happened during the armed conflicts. A very important fact is that serious war crimes took place during the armed conflicts and many of them have still remained unexplained. However, many people - members of a certain nation still deny committed and investigated war crimes, despite the fact that the verdict has been legally defined and that all the evidence is known. The thesis primarily focuses on the phenomenon of war crimes denial and relies on the theory of cognitive dissonance in order to explain why this happens. The concept and meaning of cognitive dissonance are explained, where cognitive dissonance can occur and how it can be applied to war crimes. Among other things, it is defined why members of a certain nation deny war crimes, what psychological processes take place in individuals and how their persuasions depend on what they will believe. In conclusion it is all backed up with analysed selected war crimes cases.
|