A Logical Approach to the Effect of Social Identity Motivation in Crimes Against Humanity
Abdulkadir NacarAfter World War II, crimes against humanity found application in the international and national level. If we look conceptually and terminologically, we encounter a process that goes back to World War II. It is possible to make a “definition” that refers to “humanity” for the actions that these crimes refer to, by testing them from various perspectives because a definition is a compulsory tool of logic to create and strengthen the concept. Crimes against humanity, both historically, theoretically, and in the context of judicial practices, point to an inconsistent concept. Indeed, this inconsistency was expressed by competent criminal law jurists in the sense that the definition of crimes against humanity has drawbacks. Based on this, the study is grounded on a set of principles that classical logic offers for definitions while analyzing the drawbacks of the concept. As a result of this analysis, the study found that there is a clear social identity motive in acts called crimes against humanity.The social identity approach recognizes that certain correlations can be established in the cognitive and behavioral states of individuals within a group. These correlations allow us to have an idea about the emergence and sustainability of group behavior, the needs of social groups, their relationship with individual identities and social cohesion. When crimes against humanity are simply reduced to the grounds of discrimination, and discrimination is expressed as social identity-based behavior, the importance of social groups will emerge. In other words, social groups, by constructing the social identities, determine the presumptions that are the reference of the perpetrator in crimes against humanity. The study identifies this context and reveals that the acts of crime against humanity are actually qualified forms of the relevant offenses that manifest the social identity motivation. Since states have specific construction processes of social identities, a normative and judicial system based on testable social psychology data is recommended at the national level.
İnsanlığa Karşı Suçlarda Sosyal Kimlik Motivasyonu Üzerine Mantıksal Bir Yaklaşım
Abdulkadir Nacarİnsanlığa karşı suçlar, II. Dünya Savaşı’ndan sonra uluslararası ve ulusal düzeyde uygulama alanı bulmuştur. Ancak kavramsal ve terimsel olarak bakıldığında, II. Dünya Savaşı öncesine uzanan bir süreçle karşılaşırız. Bu suçlarla tabir edilen fiiller için “insanlığı” referans alan bir tanımlama yapılması, kavramın çeşitli açılardan sınanması ile mümkündür. Çünkü tanım, kavramı oluşturmak ve güçlendirmek için zorunlu bir mantık aracıdır. Gerek tarihsel ve teorik açıdan, gerekse yargısal uygulamalar bağlamında insanlığa karşı suçlar, tutarsız bir kavrama işaret etmektedir. Aslında bu tutarsızlık, yetkin ceza hukuku yazarları tarafından insanlığa karşı suçların tanımı açısından sakıncalar barındırdığı yönüyle ifade edilmiştir. Çalışma, kavramdaki kusurları analiz ederken klasik mantığın tanımlar için sunduğu bir takım prensiplerden hareket etmektedir. Bu analizin sonucunda insanlığa karşı suçlar olarak tabir edilen fiillerde belirgin bir sosyal kimlik saiki bulunduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sosyal kimlik yaklaşımı, bireylerin grup içindeki bilişsel ve davranışsal durumlarında belirli korelasyonlar kurulabileceğini kabul eder. Bu korelasyonlar bize grup davranışının ortaya çıkışı ve sürdürülebilirliği, sosyal grupların ihtiyaçları, bireysel kimliklerle ve sosyal kohezyonla olan ilişkisi noktasında fikir yürütme imkânı tanır. İnsanlığa karşı suçlar basit anlamda ayrımcılık zeminine indirgendiğinde, ayrımcılık ise sosyal kimlik temelli davranışlar olarak ifade edildiğinde sosyal grupların önemi ortaya çıkacaktır. Başka bir anlatımla sosyal gruplar, sosyal kimlikleri inşa ederek insanlığa karşı suçlarda failin referansı olan ön kabulleri belirler. Çalışma bu bağlamı tespit ederek insanlığa karşı suç tabirindeki fiillerin, aslında ilgili suçlarda sosyal kimlik motivasyonu şeklinde tezahür eden nitelikli haller olduğunu ortaya koymaktadır. Sosyal kimlik inşasında devletlere özel inşa süreçleri söz konusu olduğundan, test edilebilir sosyal psikoloji verilerini referans alan ulusal düzeyde normatif ve yargısal bir sistem önerilmektedir.
The basis of discrimination in society is our differences, of which our identities are composed. The behaviors that we encounter as the most violent and prominent examples of discrimination are expressed in a transcendental value with the term “crime against humanity”. However, when looking at the historical and conceptual development of the term, we reveal that the term is based on several unfounded assumptions. Identities hidden in the background of discrimination are assumptions established through the social and individual constructing process. If we handle the discrimination that emerges as the reflection of the conflict of social identities with concrete data instead of transcendent assumptions, it would be possible to establish a more robust theory. Although the first part of the study, “crimes against humanity” and the second part, “social identities” seem to be independent of each other, the problem material of the “evaluations” in the third part can be expressed as the first part and the solution material as the second part. The first part is the subject of the third part, revealing the inconsistencies in the concept of crime against humanity, and the second part by determining the basic principles of reasoning, will eliminate these inconsistencies.
The method followed in the study is based on Aristotelian logic and the dialectical method. The concept of crimes against humanity, which contains elements that are controversial in terms of definition and terminology, is briefly explained with objective data as the major terminus. The minor terminus, the theory of social identities is also drawn on as an objective framework. In the evaluation section where dialectics are applied, a context tried to be established between the two disciplines by applying identity motivation as the medius terminus. This context is expressed only in the evaluation section to objectively prioritize the basic principles of the two disciplines, international criminal law, and social psychology. Although the presentation method of the study is in the form of dialectical logic and while the concept of crimes against humanity is analyzed in itself, a historical order is followed in subtitles by considering the distinctions between historical explanation (historia) and theoretical explanation (theoria). In the title of crimes against humanity, the study examined judicial practices under a separate subtitle, as there is a procedural and limited area of “imperative” for the concept that includes the provisions of the courts. In the second title, the concept of social identity in the social sciences is primarily outlined, then the studies in the field of social psychology related to the construction process of identities are explained. In the third title, first of all, the position in mainstream debates on crimes against humanity is determined, then the position and the proposal of this study are explained. Here, the study aimed to establish a more consistent context by responding to the inconsistencies detected about crimes against humanity, which is the subject of international criminal law, with the theory of social identities.
Identities are assumptions open to change and transformation. They were established with an external perception alongside an internal definition. If the discrimination underlying crimes against humanity are accepted as unilateral, the dynamic nature of identities would be neglected. This is because we can talk about discrimination when there is a conflict between ascribed meaning to an identity with a behavior that is opposite to this meaning, individually or socially. In this respect, it is necessary to consider social identities as a construction process. For example, perceptions about whether homosexuals choose homosexuality or whether it is considered as hereditary is an element that constructs homosexuality and discrimination in society. Therefore, social identities need to be updated according to these parameters. On the other hand, identities have the potential to change the dominant discourse and social cohesion. Since even modern societies coexist within certain assumptions, the dynamic structure formed around this conflict area should manifest itself in the rules of law. For this, balanced national and international developments should be progressed to protect identities against the abstract rules that hold the society together. In acts that are described as crimes against humanity, the role of social identity motivation is very evident both in terms of history and social science. When coding or judging these acts, referring to uncertainty like “humanity” and the concepts that are not related to this uncertainty means covering the effect of “social identity”.
While determining whether a crime includes a social identity motive, concrete data that will strengthen the certainty of law should be considered. From this point of view, concrete psychological and sociological data should be taken as a reference in de lege ferenda- de lege lata distinction that is shaped by the theoretical inconsistencies determined by the study in crimes against humanity and social identity approach that can respond to them. When the effects of these data were noticed in the legal environment, both Geny and Duguit from the perspective of natural law and Pound, in social engineering thought, have seen that the prominence of sociology, psychology, and anthropology disciplines are undeniable. The positive approach of this study is based on that a transcendent and untestable acceptance, such as humanity would damage the certainty of law. By testing the suitability of theoretical and clinical social psychology data towards social identities to concrete crime cases, the study aimed to base the thesis that legal certainty can be established with more appropriate reasoning.
As a result, the study proposes to regulate national criminal laws that consider the social identity motive as a qualified form of the relevant offenses rather than a separate type of “crimes against humanity”. Because nations have construction processes for their own unique social identity parameters. A universal transcendence should be avoided since it cannot be proved that acts, considered crimes against humanity tend towards an unspecified concept of humanity.