DISACT
Disappearing Act
DISACT is a 5 year ERC – Funded Project (consolidator grant: 101086935, 2023-2028). It investigates the logic of the crime of disappearances in repressive and (post)conflict settings. We aim to shed light on the historical emergence and (global) diffusion of the crime, as well as the motives driving violent actors to use disappearances in their repertoire of violence.
Our Research
DISACT investigates one of the most severe and puzzling human rights violations of our time: enforced disappearances in contexts of political violence. These are not just acts of repression—they are also used to control populations, send political messages, and erase uncomfortable parts of history.
We focus on how enforced disappearances are used across different political settings—colonial rule, violent conflict, transnational authoritarian repression, and post-conflict societies—to understand their strategic logic and long-term consequences.
Research Aims
The project addresses four key puzzles:
Historical Origins
To trace the emergence and legitimization of enforced disappearances as a tool of state repression.
Research Approach
Because disappearances are secretive and difficult to trace, DISACT uses five complementary research methods:
- Ethnographic fieldwork
- Systematic archival research
- Forensic evidence
- Legal and policy analysis
- Computational techniques
Case Studies
DISACT focuses on carefully selected case studies, each representing a distinct political and historical context.
Disact ERC
Overview
We study enforced disappearances in political violence using ethnography, archives, forensics, law, and computational methods across countries like Algeria, Libya, Cyprus, Ireland, and Chile.
We are an interdisciplinary team using political science, law, anthropology, psychology, and data science to investigate enforced disappearances.
We share our research activities, fieldwork, conferences, workshops, talks, media features, publications, awards, and upcoming events on enforced disappearances.
We make available our publications, selected datasets, protocols, and tools, reflecting ongoing research on enforced disappearances, political violence, and transitional justice worldwide.
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