Olivera Simić: Inside a war criminal's mind - why chilling lessons for today's conflicts

As war dominates global headlines once again, a new book by a leading Australian legal scholar is offering a rare and deeply unsettling insight into how educated leaders can become architects of mass violence.
 

Professor Olivera Simić of Griffith University has spent hundreds of hours of rare, intimate interviews with Biljana Plavšić, the only female political leader ever prosecuted for mass atrocities and the first woman since Nuremberg to be convicted by an international court. 
 

Her new book, Madam War Criminal: Biljana Plavšić, Serbia's Iron Lady, explores how someone grounded in science and academia came to justify extreme political actions, plead guilty to war crimes, express remorse and later revoke it. With her meticulous research and gripping narrative, Simić captures these contradictions in a way that exposes the personal narratives people build to make sense of their choices. The way Simić guides readers through the life of Biljana Plavšic from her rise as a renowned scientist to becoming the only female political leader prosecuted for mass atrocities, creates a space that feels both compelling and thought-provoking. Each page truly immerses readers in history, ethics and the human dimension of global conflict.
 

With conflicts once again escalating in the Middle East, Simić said the lessons of her research are disturbingly relevant.
 

"War doesn't begin with bombs," Simić said.
 

"It begins with ideas, narratives and leaders convincing ordinary people that violence is justified."
 

A rare window into the psychology of power and violence
 

Before the Bosnian war, Plavšić was a highly respected academic. She was a biology professor, a Fulbright scholar and the dean of the University of Sarajevo's science faculty. Yet during the violent breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s she became a leading political figure in the Bosnian Serb Republic and one of the architects of an ethno-nationalist project that resulted in widespread violence.
 

Described by Western media as the 'Serbian Iron Lady' and by Serb soldiers as a 'Serb Empress', Plavšić pleaded guilty in 2002 to a crime against humanity, persecuting non-Serbs for religious, political and racial motives. In exchange, the court dropped further charges of murder and genocide. 
 

She became the first woman since the Nuremberg trials to be convicted by an international criminal tribunal. 

"Plavšić's story forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth," Simić said.
 

"People who commit extraordinary crimes are not monsters. They can be educated, articulate individuals who justify their actions through powerful political narratives that feed on fear from the 'others'."
 

The contradictions of remorse and denial
 

One of the most confronting aspects of Plavšić's story is the dramatic shift in how she interpreted her actions. During her trial she expressed remorse and accepted responsibility, which contributed to a reduced sentence.
 

However, after her release from prison she publicly withdrew that remorse, claiming she had pleaded guilty only to avoid a lengthy trial.
 

"In our conversations she repeatedly insisted she had done nothing wrong," Simić said.
 

"This contradiction reveals how people construct narratives to justify their actions even when faced with overwhelming evidence."
 

Why the book matters now
 

Simić believes understanding how political leaders rationalise violence is essential to understanding modern conflicts.
 

The rise of extreme nationalism, ideological polarisation and competing historical narratives are visible in many regions of the world today.
 

"When we look at conflicts unfolding around us now, including those in the Middle East, we see how powerful narratives can mobilise entire populations," she said.
 

"Understanding how leaders construct those narratives is crucial if we want to prevent future atrocities."
 

A deeply personal project
 

For Simić, the project was not just academic. Born in the former Yugoslavia, she was a 19-year-old law student when the Bosnian war began in 1992.
 

She lived through the conflict and later left the region as a refugee before eventually settling in Australia.
 

"My own life was shaped by war," she said.
 

"I have spent my career speaking with victims of violence and documenting their experiences, particularly women who survived wartime atrocities."
 

The decision to interview a perpetrator rather than a victim was one of the most challenging projects of her career. The challenge was even greater since Simić got a rare access to Plavšić thanks to her late aunt who was one of her closest friends.

"It was emotionally difficult but if we only study victims, we miss the opportunity to understand how perpetrators think and therefore prevent future mass atrocities," she said. 
 

A warning from history
 

Through her years of conversations with Plavšić, Simić came to a sobering conclusion.
 

The danger of war crimes does not lie only with extremist individuals, but with the stories societies tell themselves.
 

"Plavšić was intelligent, educated and politically powerful," she said.
 

"She believed deeply that what she was doing was necessary to protect her people."
 

That belief, Simić argues, is precisely what makes her story so important today.
 

"If we want to prevent future atrocities, we must understand how leaders justify violence, and weaponise historical grievances and equally important how those ideas gain support," she said.
 

"That is the warning this story offers."
 

About the author
 

Professor Olivera Simić is a leading scholar of international law and transitional justice at Griffith Law School. Born in the former Yugoslavia, she lived through the Yugoslav wars before building an international academic career spanning Europe, the United States and Australia.
 

She has published extensively on war crimes, gender and post-conflict justice and has received numerous awards for her scholarship, including the Peace Women Award from the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
 

Her latest book, Madam War Criminal: Biljana Plavšić, Serbia's Iron Lady, provides an unprecedented exploration of the psychology of political power, accountability and the narratives that shape war. 
 

www.oliverasimic.com