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Explaining Evilness

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Pre-Modernity, Totalitarianism and the Non-Banality of Evil

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Abstract

This chapter criticizes Arendt’s concept of the “banality of evil.” By going into detail on Eichmann, it shows that she greatly misinterpreted him. The chapter also criticizes the usual interpretations of the Milgram experiments, which are often seen as supporting Arendt’s thesis.

In criticizing the notion of the banality of evil, this chapter presents an alternative framework for analyzing why states get people to commit evil acts. This approach combines social-psychological theories with the book’s state-building paradigm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of European Studies and International Relations, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Steven Saxonberg

  2. Center for Social and Economic Strategies, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic

    Steven Saxonberg

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  1. Steven Saxonberg
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Correspondence to Steven Saxonberg .

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Saxonberg, S. (2019). Explaining Evilness. In: Pre-Modernity, Totalitarianism and the Non-Banality of Evil. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28195-3_3

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