CRIMINOLOGY AND THE HOLOCAUST - XENOPHOBIA, EVOLUTION, AND GENOCIDE

Modern theories of crime and delinquency tend to be individualistic in their level of analysis and tend to focus on consensus crimes. The ph enomenon of ethnic genocide is virtually impossible to examine within such parameters. Recent histories of the Holocaust by Browning and Gol dhagen suggest that it was carried out by ordinary citizens who suppor ted its objectives, not by dysfunctional psychopaths. Nor was it carri ed out by individuals intimidated by powerful authority structures. Th is article reviews the evidence from the new historiographies and prop oses a theory of genocide based on xenophobia developed in recent acco unts of evolutionary psychology.