Crimes against humanity are amongst the most shocking violations imaginable. Savelsberg′s text provides a much-needed criminological insight to the subject, exploring explanations of and responses to human rights abuses. Linking human rights scholarship with criminological theory, the book is divided into three parts:

Part 1: Examines the legal and historical approach to the topic within a criminological framework

Part 2: Unpicks the aetiology of human rights offending, using detailed case studies such as the Holocaust and the Darfur genocide

Part 3: Explores institutional responses to crimes and uses criminological theory to offer solutions