Samenvatting

The movie Lord of War led to many discussions between Constantine – the biographee of my criminological biography of an arms dealer (Eski, 2022) – and myself. While the movie portrays arms dealer as devoid of morality, exploiting war and human suffering for personal gain (Niccol, 2005), Constantine’s biography paints a different picture. Through engagement with him, condemned as a ‘merchant of death,’ I discovered a man who construes and maintains his moral compass, navigating ambiguity by shifting principles and roles. This article delves into the challenges faced by a biographer in understanding the essence of the biographee’s life, particularly when grappling with moral complexity.