Perpetrator studies is a nascent interdisciplinary, scholarly field of research into the perpetrators of

mass killings Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members withou ...

and/or political violence. It is covered in ''Journal of Perpetrator Research'' and other publications. Anthropologists, historians and political scientists are among those who have made contributions to the field. While the study of perpetrators has not been shown the same level of scholarly interest as studies of victims, some noteworthy studies have explored the actions and viewpoints of perpetrators, as well as the "processes through which genocide took shape" that have contributed to what scholars view as a phenomenon of mostly "ordinary people" becoming highly motivated to commit collective atrocities.

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