Genocide: Difference between revisions
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'''Genocide''' is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of [[a people]].{{Efn|Usually defined as a "[[nation]]al, [[Ethnic group|ethnic]], [[race (classification of humans)|racial]], or [[Religion|religious]] group"}}{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=11}} [[Raphael Lemkin]], who coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by means such as "the disintegration of [its] political and social institutions, of [its] [[cultural genocide|culture]], [[linguicide|language]], national feelings, [[religious persecution|religion]], and [its] economic existence".{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=48}} | |||
Genocide has occurred throughout [[human history]], even during [[prehistoric times]]. Most genocides have [[war and genocide|occurred during wartime]], and they are particularly likely in situations of imperial expansion and power consolidation. It is [[colonialism and genocide|associated with colonialism]], especially [[settler colonialism]], as well as with both [[world war]]s and repressive governments in the twentieth century. The colloquial understanding of genocide is heavily influenced by [[the Holocaust]] as its archetype and is conceived as innocent victims being targeted for their ethnic identity rather than for any political reason. | |||
'''Genocide''' is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of | |||
Genocide is widely considered to be the epitome of human [[evil]] and is often referred to as the "crime of crimes"; consequently, events are often [[genocide recognition politics|denounced as ''genocide'']]. | |||
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== Origins == | == Origins == | ||
[[File:Stroop Report - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising BW.jpg|thumb|[[The Holocaust]] heavily influences the popular understanding of genocide, as [[mass killing]] of innocent people based on their ethnic identity.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=19}}{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Conclusion of Chapter 4}}]] | [[File:Stroop Report - Warsaw Ghetto Uprising BW.jpg|thumb|link=Warsaw Ghetto boy|[[The Holocaust]] heavily influences the popular understanding of genocide, as [[mass killing]] of innocent people based on their ethnic identity.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=19}}{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Conclusion of Chapter 4}}]] | ||
Polish-Jewish lawyer [[Raphael Lemkin]] coined the term ''genocide'' between 1941 and 1943.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=7}}{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=2}} Lemkin's coinage [[hybrid word|combined]] the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|grc|[[genos|γένος]]}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|genos}}, "race, people") with the [[Latin]] [[suffix]] {{lang|la|-caedo}} ("act of killing").{{sfn |Irvin-Erickson |2023|p=14}} He submitted the manuscript for his book ''[[Axis Rule in Occupied Europe]]'' to the publisher in early 1942 and it was published in 1944 as [[the Holocaust]] was coming to light outside Europe.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=7}} Lemkin's proposal was more ambitious than simply outlawing this type of mass slaughter. He also thought that the law against genocide could promote more tolerant and [[Plural society|pluralistic]] societies.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=14}} His response to Nazi criminality was sharply different from that of another international law scholar, [[Hersch Lauterpacht]], who argued that it was essential to protect individuals from atrocities whether or not they were targeted as members of a group.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=19–20}} | Polish-Jewish lawyer [[Raphael Lemkin]] coined the term ''genocide'' between 1941 and 1943.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=7}}{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=2}} Lemkin's coinage [[hybrid word|combined]] the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] word {{lang|grc|[[genos|γένος]]}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|genos}}, "race, people") with the [[Latin]] [[suffix]] {{lang|la|-caedo}} ("act of killing").{{sfn |Irvin-Erickson |2023|p=14}} He submitted the manuscript for his book ''[[Axis Rule in Occupied Europe]]'' to the publisher in early 1942 and it was published in 1944 as [[the Holocaust]] was coming to light outside Europe.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=7}} Lemkin's proposal was more ambitious than simply outlawing this type of mass slaughter. He also thought that the law against genocide could promote more tolerant and [[Plural society|pluralistic]] societies.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=14}} His response to Nazi criminality was sharply different from that of another international law scholar, [[Hersch Lauterpacht]], who argued that it was essential to protect individuals from atrocities whether or not they were targeted as members of a group.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=19–20}} | ||
According to Lemkin, the central definition of genocide was "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" in which its members were not targeted as individuals, but rather as members of the group. The objectives of genocide "would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups".{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=48}} These were not separate crimes but different aspects of the same genocidal process.{{sfn|Shaw|2015|p=39}} Lemkin's definition of nation was sufficiently broad to apply to nearly any type of human collectivity, even one based on a trivial characteristic.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=15}} He saw genocide as an inherently colonial process, and in his later writings analyzed what he described as the colonial | According to Lemkin, the central definition of genocide was "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" in which its members were not targeted as individuals, but rather as members of the group. The objectives of genocide "would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups".{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=48}} These were not separate crimes but different aspects of the same genocidal process.{{sfn|Shaw|2015|p=39}} Lemkin's definition of nation was sufficiently broad to apply to nearly any type of human collectivity, even one based on a trivial characteristic.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=15}} He saw genocide as an inherently colonial process, and in his later writings he analyzed what he described as the [[colonial genocide]]s occurring within [[List of former European colonies|European colonies]] as well as the [[Soviet]] and [[German occupation of Europe|Nazi empires]].{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=14}} Furthermore, his definition of genocidal acts, which was to replace the national pattern of the victim with that of the perpetrator, was much broader than the five types that were later enumerated in the [[Genocide Convention]].{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=14}} Lemkin considered genocide to have occurred since the beginning of human history and dated the efforts to criminalize it to the Spanish critics of colonial excesses [[Francisco de Vitoria]] and [[Bartolomé de Las Casas]].{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=11}} The Polish court that convicted SS official [[Arthur Greiser]] in 1946 was the first to mention the term in a verdict, using Lemkin's original definition.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|pp=7–8}} | ||
== Crime == | == Crime == | ||
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In order to criminalize peacetime genocide, Lemkin brought his proposal to criminalize genocide to the newly established [[United Nations]] in 1946.{{sfn |Irvin-Erickson |2023|p=20}} Opposition to the convention was greater than Lemkin expected due to states' concerns that it would lead their own policies—including treatment of [[indigenous peoples]], [[European colonialism]], [[racial segregation in the United States]], and [[Soviet nationalities policy]]—to be labeled genocide. Before the convention was passed, powerful countries (both Western powers and the Soviet Union) secured changes in an attempt to make the convention unenforceable and applicable to their [[Cold War|geopolitical rivals]]' actions but not their own.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|pp=20–21}} Few formerly colonized countries were represented and "most states had no interest in empowering their victims– past, present, and future".{{sfn|Bachman|2021b|p=1021}} | In order to criminalize peacetime genocide, Lemkin brought his proposal to criminalize genocide to the newly established [[United Nations]] in 1946.{{sfn |Irvin-Erickson |2023|p=20}} Opposition to the convention was greater than Lemkin expected due to states' concerns that it would lead their own policies—including treatment of [[indigenous peoples]], [[European colonialism]], [[racial segregation in the United States]], and [[Soviet nationalities policy]]—to be labeled genocide. Before the convention was passed, powerful countries (both Western powers and the Soviet Union) secured changes in an attempt to make the convention unenforceable and applicable to their [[Cold War|geopolitical rivals]]' actions but not their own.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|pp=20–21}} Few formerly colonized countries were represented and "most states had no interest in empowering their victims– past, present, and future".{{sfn|Bachman|2021b|p=1021}} | ||
The result | The result narrowed Lemkin's original concept;{{sfn|Curthoys|Docker|2008|pp=13–14}} he privately considered it a failure.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|pp=20–21}} Lemkin's anti-colonial conception of genocide was transformed into one that favored colonial powers.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=22}}{{sfn|Bachman|2021b|p=1020}} Among the violence freed from the stigma of genocide was the destruction of political groups, which the Soviet Union is particularly blamed for blocking.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=4}}{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=53}}{{sfn|Curthoys|Docker|2008|pp=13–14}} Although Lemkin credited women's NGOs with securing the passage of the convention, the gendered violence of forced pregnancy, marriage, and divorce was left out.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=8}} Additionally omitted was [[ethnic cleansing|the forced migration of populations]]—which had been carried out by the Soviet Union and its allies, condoned by the Western powers, [[expulsion of Germans|against millions of Germans from central and Eastern Europe]].{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|pp=267–268, 283}} | ||
=== Genocide Convention === | === Genocide Convention === | ||
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=== Prosecutions === | === Prosecutions === | ||
[[File:Abubacarr Tambadou speaks at the International Court of Justice.jpg|thumb|[[Rohingya genocide case]] at the [[International Court of Justice]]]] | |||
[[File: | |||
During the [[Cold War]], genocide remained at the level of rhetoric because both [[superpower]]s (the United States and the Soviet Union) felt vulnerable to accusations of genocide and were therefore unwilling to press charges against the other party.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=9}} Despite political pressure to charge "Soviet genocide", the United States government refused to ratify the convention, fearing [[We Charge Genocide|countercharges]].{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=266}} Authorities have been reluctant to prosecute the perpetrators of many genocides, although non-judicial commissions of inquiry have also been created by some states.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=150}} | During the [[Cold War]], genocide remained at the level of rhetoric because both [[superpower]]s (the United States and the Soviet Union) felt vulnerable to accusations of genocide and were therefore unwilling to press charges against the other party.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=9}} Despite political pressure to charge "Soviet genocide", the United States government refused to ratify the convention, fearing [[We Charge Genocide|countercharges]].{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2017|p=266}} Authorities have been reluctant to prosecute the perpetrators of many genocides, although non-judicial commissions of inquiry have also been created by some states.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=150}} | ||
[[International court]]s have found a small number of events as constituting genocide, such as the [[Rwandan genocide]] and the [[Srebrenica genocide]].{{sfn|UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect|n.d.|p=2}} | [[International court]]s have found a small number of events as constituting genocide, such as the [[Rwandan genocide]] and the [[Srebrenica genocide]].{{sfn|UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect|n.d.|p=2}} The first head of state to be convicted of genocide was [[Khieu Samphan]] in 2018 for the [[Cambodian genocide]].{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=2}} Although it is widely recognized that punishment of the perpetrators cannot be of an order with their crimes, the trials often serve other purposes such as attempting to shape public perception of the past.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=150}} There are several cases in which the [[International Court of Justice]] has been called upon to adjudicate genocide, including the [[Bosnian genocide case]], [[Rohingya genocide case]], and [[South Africa's genocide case against Israel|Gaza genocide case]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Killander |first1=Magnus |title=Is Israel committing genocide in Gaza? International court will take years to decide, but states have a duty to act now |url=https://theconversation.com/is-israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-international-court-will-take-years-to-decide-but-states-have-a-duty-to-act-now-263076 |access-date=8 November 2025 |work=The Conversation |date=15 August 2025}}</ref> | ||
The first head of state to be convicted of genocide was in 2018 for the [[Cambodian genocide]].{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=2}} | |||
Although it is widely recognized that punishment of the perpetrators cannot be of an order with their crimes, the trials often serve other purposes such as attempting to shape public perception of the past.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=150}} | |||
== Genocide studies == | == Genocide studies == | ||
{{main|Genocide studies}} | {{main|Genocide studies}} | ||
The field of genocide studies emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, as [[social science]] began to consider the phenomenon of genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=13, 17}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=23}} Due to the occurrence of the [[Bosnian genocide]], [[Rwandan genocide]], and the [[Kosovo crisis]], genocide studies exploded in the 1990s.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=17–18}} In contrast to earlier researchers who took for granted the idea that liberal and democratic societies were less likely to commit genocide, revisionists associated with the [[International Network of Genocide Scholars]] emphasized how Western ideas led to genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=23–24}} The [[genocides of indigenous peoples]] as part of [[European colonialism]] were initially not recognized as a form of genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|p=6–10}} Pioneers of research into [[settler colonialism]] such as [[Patrick Wolfe]] spelled out the genocidal logic of settler projects in places like [[Americas]] and [[Australia]], prompting a rethinking of colonialism.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor||2023|p=9}} Nevertheless, most genocide research focuses on a limited canon of twentieth-century genocides, while many other cases are understudied or forgotten.{{sfn|Bachman|Ruiz|2024|p=viii}} Many genocide scholars are concerned both with objective study of the topic, and obtaining insights that will help prevent future genocides.{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=24}} | |||
The field of genocide studies emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, as [[social science]] began to consider the phenomenon of genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=13, 17}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=23}} Due to the occurrence of the [[Bosnian genocide]], [[Rwandan genocide]], and the [[Kosovo crisis]], genocide studies exploded in the 1990s.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=17–18}} In contrast to earlier researchers who took for granted the idea that liberal and democratic societies were less likely to commit genocide, revisionists associated with the [[International Network of Genocide Scholars]] emphasized how Western ideas led to genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=23–24}} The [[genocides of indigenous peoples]] as part of [[European colonialism]] were initially not recognized as a form of genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|p=6–10}} Pioneers of research into [[settler colonialism]] such as [[Patrick Wolfe]] spelled out the genocidal logic of settler projects, prompting a rethinking of colonialism.{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor||2023|p=9}} Many genocide scholars are concerned both with objective study of the topic, and obtaining insights that will help prevent future genocides.{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=24}} | |||
=== Definitions === | === Definitions === | ||
{{main|Genocide definitions}} | {{main|Genocide definitions}} | ||
[[File:Starving woman africa biafra nigeria conflict famine (cropped).jpg|thumb|The [[blockade of Biafra]], which resulted in the death of at least 1 million people, was argued not to be genocide because it was the Nigerian government's aim to [[Nigerian Civil War|suppress rebellion]].{{sfn|Moses|2021|pp=443–444}}]] | [[File:Starving woman africa biafra nigeria conflict famine (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The [[blockade of Biafra]], which resulted in the death of at least 1 million people, was argued not to be genocide because it was the Nigerian government's aim to [[Nigerian Civil War|suppress rebellion]].{{sfn|Moses|2021|pp=443–444}}]] | ||
The definition of genocide generates controversy whenever a new case arises and debate erupts as to whether or not it qualifies as a genocide. Sociologist [[Martin Shaw (sociologist)|Martin Shaw]] writes, "Few ideas are as important in public debate, but in few cases are the meaning and scope of a key idea less clearly agreed."{{sfn|Shaw|2015|p=38}}{{sfn|Williams|2020|p=8}} Perceptions of genocide vary between seeing it as "an extremely rare and difficult to prove crime", to one that can be found, couched in euphemistic language, in any history book.{{sfn|Gurmendi Dunkelberg|2025|p=}}{{pn|date=October 2025}} | |||
Some scholars and activists use the Genocide Convention definition.{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=22}} Others prefer narrower definitions that indicate genocide is rare in human history, reducing genocide to [[mass killing]]{{sfn|Shaw|2014|p=4}} or distinguishing it from other types of violence by the innocence,{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=19}} helplessness, or defencelessness of its victims.{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Sociologists redefine genocide}} Most genocides occur during wartime,{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=15}}{{sfn|Shaw|2014|pp=6–7}} and distinguishing genocide or [[war of extermination|genocidal war]] from non-genocidal warfare can be difficult.{{sfn|Shaw|2014|pp=6–7}} Likewise, genocide is distinguished from violent and coercive forms of rule that aim to change behavior rather than destroy groups.{{sfn|Shaw|2014|p=7}}{{sfn|Kiernan|Madley|Taylor|2023|pp=11–12}} Some definitions include political or social groups as potential victims of genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=3}} Many of the more sociologically oriented definitions of genocide overlap that of the [[crime against humanity]] of [[extermination (crime)|extermination]], which refers to large-scale killing or induced death as part of a systematic attack on a civilian population.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=3–4}} Isolated or short-lived phenomena that resemble genocide can be termed [[genocidal massacre|genocidal violence]].{{sfn|Shaw|2014|p=5}} | |||
[[Cultural genocide]] or ethnocide—actions targeted at the reproduction of a group's language, culture, or way of life{{sfn|Bachman|2022|pp=56–57}}—was part of [[Raphael Lemkin]]'s original concept, and its proponents in the 1940s argued that it, along with physical genocide, were two mechanisms aiming at the same goal: destruction of the targeted group. Because cultural genocide clearly applied to some colonial and assimilationist policies, several states with overseas colonies threatened to refuse to ratify the convention unless it was excluded.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=62}}{{sfn|Curthoys|Docker|2008|pp=13–14}} Most genocide scholars believe that both cultural genocide and [[structural violence]] should be included in the definition of genocide, if committed with intent to destroy the targeted group.{{sfn|Bachman|2021a|p=375}} Although included in Lemkin's original concept and by some scholars, political groups were also excluded from the Genocide Convention. The result of this exclusion was that perpetrators of genocide could redefine their targets as being a political or military enemy, thus excluding them from consideration.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|pp=45–46, 48–49, 53}} | [[Cultural genocide]] or ethnocide—actions targeted at the reproduction of a group's language, culture, or way of life{{sfn|Bachman|2022|pp=56–57}}—was part of [[Raphael Lemkin]]'s original concept, and its proponents in the 1940s argued that it, along with physical genocide, were two mechanisms aiming at the same goal: destruction of the targeted group. Because cultural genocide clearly applied to some colonial and assimilationist policies, several states with overseas colonies threatened to refuse to ratify the convention unless it was excluded.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=62}}{{sfn|Curthoys|Docker|2008|pp=13–14}} Most genocide scholars believe that both cultural genocide and [[structural violence]] should be included in the definition of genocide, if committed with intent to destroy the targeted group.{{sfn|Bachman|2021a|p=375}} Although included in Lemkin's original concept and by some scholars, political groups were also excluded from the Genocide Convention. The result of this exclusion was that perpetrators of genocide could redefine their targets as being a political or military enemy, thus excluding them from consideration.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|pp=45–46, 48–49, 53}} | ||
=== Criticism of the concept of genocide and alternatives === | === Criticism of the concept of genocide and alternatives === | ||
[[File: | [[File:Images of war 23-25 from Gaza, by Jaber Badwen, IMG 6201.jpg|thumb|The death of large numbers of civilians as [[collateral damage]] of military activity such as [[Aerial bombardment and international law|aerial bombings]] is excluded from the definition of genocide, even when they make up a significant portion of a nation's population.{{sfn|Moses|2023|pp=22–23}} South Africa [[South Africa's genocide case against Israel|has argued]] that making Gaza uninhabitable ''(pictured)'' is an element of the [[Gaza genocide]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=David |title=Domicide: The Mass Destruction of Homes Should Be a Crime Against Humanity |url=https://fnl.mit.edu/january-march-2024/domicide-the-mass-destruction-of-homes-should-be-a-crime-against-humanity/ |website=MIT Faculty Newsletter |access-date=8 November 2025 |date=9 March 2024}}</ref>]] | ||
Most civilian killings in the twentieth century were not from genocide, which only applies to select cases.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=25}}{{sfn|Graziosi|Sysyn|2022|p=15}} Alternative terms have been coined to describe processes left outside narrower definitions of genocide. [[Ethnic cleansing]]—the forced expulsion of a population from a given territory—has achieved widespread currency, although many scholars recognize that it frequently overlaps with genocide, even where Lemkin's definition is not used.{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Chapter 5}} Other terms ending in -cide have proliferated for the destruction of particular types of groupings: [[democide]] (people by a government), [[eliticide]] (the elite of a targeted group), ethnocide (ethnic groups), [[gendercide]] (gendered groupings), [[politicide]] (political groups), [[classicide]] (social classes), and [[urbicide]] (the destruction of a particular locality).{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Chapter 6}}{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=33}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=42–43}} | Most civilian killings in the twentieth century were not from genocide, which only applies to select cases.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=25}}{{sfn|Graziosi|Sysyn|2022|p=15}} Alternative terms have been coined to describe processes left outside narrower definitions of genocide. [[Ethnic cleansing]]—the forced expulsion of a population from a given territory—has achieved widespread currency, although many scholars recognize that it frequently overlaps with genocide, even where Lemkin's definition is not used.{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Chapter 5}} Other terms ending in -cide have proliferated for the destruction of particular types of groupings: [[democide]] (people by a government), [[eliticide]] (the elite of a targeted group), ethnocide (ethnic groups), [[gendercide]] (gendered groupings), [[politicide]] (political groups), [[classicide]] (social classes), and [[urbicide]] (the destruction of a particular locality).{{sfn|Shaw|2015|loc=Chapter 6}}{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=33}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=42–43}} | ||
The word ''genocide'' inherently carries a value judgement{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=31–32}} as it is widely considered to be the epitome of human [[evil]].{{sfn|Lang|2005|pp=5–17}} In the past, violence that could be labeled genocide [[genocide justification|was sometimes celebrated]]{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=32}}—although it always had its critics.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=45–46}} The idea that genocide sits on top of a hierarchy of [[atrocity crimes]]—that it is worse than [[crimes against humanity]] or [[war crimes]]—is controversial among scholars{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=11}} and it suggests that the protection of groups is more important than of individuals.{{sfn|Sands|2017|p=364}} Historian [[A. Dirk Moses]] argues that the prioritization of genocide causes other atrocities to not be considered in study and response.{{sfn|Moses|2021|p=1}}{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=118}} | The word ''genocide'' inherently carries a value judgement{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=31–32}} as it is widely considered to be the epitome of human [[evil]].{{sfn|Lang|2005|pp=5–17}} In the past, violence that could be labeled genocide [[genocide justification|was sometimes celebrated]]{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=32}}—although it always had its critics.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=45–46}} The idea that genocide sits on top of a hierarchy of [[atrocity crimes]]—that it is worse than [[crimes against humanity]] or [[war crimes]]—is controversial among scholars{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=11}} and it suggests that the protection of groups is more important than of individuals.{{sfn|Sands|2017|p=364}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=11}} Historian [[A. Dirk Moses]] argues that the prioritization of genocide causes other atrocities to not be considered in study and response.{{sfn|Moses|2021|p=1}}{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=118}} | ||
== Causes == | == Causes == | ||
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| source = —[[Talaat Pasha]] in {{lang|de|[[Berliner Tageblatt]]}}, [https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/ODY7RTSKJEM56WMH3FYPHV3FPJDKPRNO?issuepage=4 4 May 1916]{{sfn|Ihrig|2016|pp=162–163}}{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=32}} | | source = —[[Talaat Pasha]] in {{lang|de|[[Berliner Tageblatt]]}}, [https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/ODY7RTSKJEM56WMH3FYPHV3FPJDKPRNO?issuepage=4 4 May 1916]{{sfn|Ihrig|2016|pp=162–163}}{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=32}} | ||
}} | }} | ||
The colloquial understanding of genocide is heavily influenced by [[the Holocaust]] as its archetype and is conceived as innocent victims [[hate crime|targeted because of irrational hatred]] rather than for any political reason.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=19}} Genocide is not an end of itself, but a means to another end—often chosen by perpetrators after other options failed.{{sfn|Kathman|Wood|2011|pp=737–738}} Most are ultimately caused by its perpetrators perceiving an existential threat to their own existence, although this belief is usually exaggerated and can be entirely imagined.{{sfn|Stone|Jinks|2022|p=258}}{{sfn|Moses|2023|pp=16–17, 27}}{{sfn|Nyseth Nzitatira|2022|p=52}} Particular threats to existing elites that have been correlated to genocide include both successful and attempted [[regime change]] via assassination, coups, revolutions, and [[civil war]]s.{{sfn|Nyseth Nzitatira|2022|pp=52–53}} | |||
The colloquial understanding of genocide is heavily influenced by [[the Holocaust]] as its archetype and is conceived as innocent victims [[hate crime|targeted because of | |||
Most genocides were not planned long in advance, but emerged through a process of [[cumulative radicalization|gradual radicalization]], often escalating to genocide following resistance by those targeted.{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=48–49}} Genocide perpetrators often fear—usually irrationally—that if they do not commit atrocities, they will suffer a similar fate as they inflict on their victims.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=146}}{{sfn|Moyd|2022|p=245}} Despite perpetrators' utilitarian goals,{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=308}} ideological factors are necessary to explain why genocide seems to be a desirable solution to the identified security problem.{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=308}}{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=146}} Noncombatants are harmed because of the [[collective guilt]] ascribed to an entire people—defined according to race but targeted because of its supposed security threat.{{sfn|Moses|2021|p=329}} Other motives for genocide have included theft, [[land grabbing]], and revenge.{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=6}} | Most genocides were not planned long in advance, but emerged through a process of [[cumulative radicalization|gradual radicalization]], often escalating to genocide following resistance by those targeted.{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=48–49}} Genocide perpetrators often fear—usually irrationally—that if they do not commit atrocities, they will suffer a similar fate as they inflict on their victims.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=146}}{{sfn|Moyd|2022|p=245}} Despite perpetrators' utilitarian goals,{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=308}} ideological factors are necessary to explain why genocide seems to be a desirable solution to the identified security problem.{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=308}}{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=146}} Noncombatants are harmed because of the [[collective guilt]] ascribed to an entire people—defined according to race but targeted because of its supposed security threat.{{sfn|Moses|2021|p=329}} Other motives for genocide have included theft, [[land grabbing]], and revenge.{{sfn|Kiernan|2023|p=6}} | ||
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== Perpetrators == | == Perpetrators == | ||
{{see also|Perpetrator | {{see also|Perpetrator studies}} | ||
[[File: | [[File:Soldiers at a burial for the dead at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, c. 1891.jpg|thumb|[[Wounded Knee Massacre]] perpetrators burying the dead. Several of them received medals for heroism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Campbell |first1=Lucy |title=Hegseth says Wounded Knee massacre soldiers will keep Medals of Honor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/26/pete-hegseth-wounded-knee-massacre-medals-of-honor |access-date=8 November 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=26 September 2025}}</ref>]] | ||
Genocides are usually driven by states{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=189}} and their agents, such as elites, political parties, bureaucracies, armed | Genocides are usually driven by states{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=36–37}}{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=189}} and their agents, such as elites, political parties, bureaucracies, armed forces, and paramilitaries.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=189}} Civilians are often the leading agents when the genocide takes places in remote frontier areas.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=215–216}} A common strategy is for state-sponsored atrocities to be carried out in secrecy by paramilitary groups, offering the benefit of [[plausible deniability]] while widening complicity in the atrocities.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=12}}{{sfn|Anderton|2023|p=146}}{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|pp=179–180, 189}} The leaders who organize genocide usually believe that their actions [[genocide justification|were justified]] and regret nothing.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=186}} | ||
forces, and paramilitaries.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=189}} Civilians are often the leading agents when the genocide takes places in remote frontier areas.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=215–216}} A common strategy is for state-sponsored atrocities to be carried out in secrecy by paramilitary groups, offering the benefit of [[plausible deniability]] while widening complicity in the atrocities.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=12}}{{sfn|Anderton|2023|p=146}}{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|pp=179–180, 189}} The leaders who organize genocide usually believe that their actions [[genocide justification|were justified]] and regret nothing.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=186}} | |||
How ordinary people can become involved in extraordinary violence under circumstances of acute conflict is poorly understood.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=3}}{{sfn|Rechtman|2021|p=174}} The foot soldiers of genocide (as opposed to its organizers) are not demographically or psychologically aberrant.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2020|pp=1–2, 211}}; {{harvnb|Anderson|Jessee|2020|pp=8–9}}; {{harvnb|Rechtman|2021|p=190}}; {{harvnb|Maynard|2022|p=319}}</ref> People who commit crimes during genocide are rarely true believers in the ideology behind genocide, although they are affected by it to some extent{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=152}} alongside other factors such as obedience, [[diffusion of responsibility]], and conformity.{{sfn|McDoom|2020|p=124}} Other evidence suggests that ideological propaganda is not effective in inducing people to commit genocide{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=4}} and that for some perpetrators, the [[dehumanization]] of victims, and adoption of nationalist or other ideologies that justify the violence occurs after they begin to perpetrate atrocities{{sfn|McDoom|2020|pp=124–125}} often coinciding with escalation.{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=5}} Although genocide perpetrators have often been assumed to be male, the role of women in perpetrating genocide—although they were historically excluded from leadership—has also been explored.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=10}} People's behavior changes under the course of events, and someone might choose to kill one genocide victim while saving another.{{sfn|Anderton|2023|p=143}}{{sfn|Rechtman|2021|p=177}}{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=2}} Anthropologist | How ordinary people can become involved in extraordinary violence under circumstances of acute conflict is poorly understood.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=3}}{{sfn|Rechtman|2021|p=174}} The foot soldiers of genocide (as opposed to its organizers) are not demographically or psychologically aberrant.<ref>{{harvnb|Williams|2020|pp=1–2, 211}}; {{harvnb|Anderson|Jessee|2020|pp=8–9}}; {{harvnb|Rechtman|2021|p=190}}; {{harvnb|Maynard|2022|p=319}}</ref> People who commit crimes during genocide are rarely true believers in the ideology behind genocide, although they are affected by it to some extent{{sfn|Maynard|2022|p=152}} alongside other factors such as obedience, [[diffusion of responsibility]], and conformity.{{sfn|McDoom|2020|p=124}} Other evidence suggests that ideological propaganda is not effective in inducing people to commit genocide{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=4}} and that for some perpetrators, the [[dehumanization]] of victims, and adoption of nationalist or other ideologies that justify the violence occurs after they begin to perpetrate atrocities{{sfn|McDoom|2020|pp=124–125}} often coinciding with escalation.{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=5}} Although genocide perpetrators have often been assumed to be male, the role of women in perpetrating genocide—although they were historically excluded from leadership—has also been explored.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=10}} People's behavior changes under the course of events, and someone might choose to kill one genocide victim while saving another.{{sfn|Anderton|2023|p=143}}{{sfn|Rechtman|2021|p=177}}{{sfn|Luft|2020|p=2}} Anthropologist Richard Rechtman writes that in circumstances where atrocities such as genocides are perpetrated, many people refuse to become perpetrators.{{sfn|Rechtman|2021|pp=181–182, 187, 191}} | ||
== Methods == | == Methods == | ||
[[File:Operação Hymenaea, Julho-2016 (29399454651).jpg|thumb|Destruction of the environments where they live has been argued to be a form of [[genocide of indigenous peoples]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=de Hemptinne |first1=Jérôme |title=The Destruction of Indigenous Communities’ Landscapes, an Aggravated Form of Ecocide? |url=https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-destruction-of-indigenous-communities-landscapes-an-aggravated-form-of-ecocide/ |website=EJIL: Talk! |access-date=8 November 2025 |language=English |date=2 May 2025}}</ref> Pictured: [[deforestation of the Amazon]].]] | |||
[[File: | [[File:Great Fire of Smyrna.jpg|thumb|Genocide often entails the physical destruction of the victims' homes.]] | ||
Men, particularly young adults, are disproportionately targeted for killing before other victims in order to stem resistance.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=33}}{{sfn|von Joeden-Forgey|2022|p=118}} Although diverse forms of sexual violence—ranging from rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriage, sexual slavery, mutilation, forced sterilization—can affect either males or females, women are more likely to face it.{{sfn|von Joeden-Forgey|2022|pp=116–119}} The combination of killing of men and sexual violence against women is often intended to disrupt reproduction of the targeted group.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=33}} | Men, particularly young adults, are disproportionately targeted for killing before other victims in order to stem resistance.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=33}}{{sfn|von Joeden-Forgey|2022|p=118}} Although diverse forms of sexual violence—ranging from rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriage, sexual slavery, mutilation, forced sterilization—can affect either males or females, women are more likely to face it.{{sfn|von Joeden-Forgey|2022|pp=116–119}} The combination of killing of men and sexual violence against women is often intended to disrupt reproduction of the targeted group.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=33}} Those scholars who write about the relationship between [[colonialism and genocide]] have explored a wide range of means of group destruction and devastation in colonial settings, such as [[indigenous land theft]], [[forced labor]], environmental destruction, [[apartheid (crime)|apartheid]] and other forms of systemic discrimination.{{sfn|Tiemessen|2023|p=15}}{{sfn| Watenpaugh |2022|p=37}}{{sfn|Adhikari|2023|p=43}} Indirect forms of killing include [[starvation (crime)|starvation]] and deprivation of other basic needs such as water, clothing, shelter, and medical care.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=10}} Starvation has been the main method of destruction in many genocides.{{sfn|Sysyn|Theriault|2017|p=1}} | ||
Although the popular view of genocide is that it involves mass killing, according to many definitions it may occur without a single person being killed.{{sfn| Watenpaugh |2022|p=53}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=11}} Forced displacement is a common feature of many genocides, with the victims often transported to another location where their destruction is easier for the perpetrators. In some cases, victims are transported to sites where they are killed or deprived of the necessities of life.{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=20}} People are often killed by the displacement itself, as was the case for many [[Armenian genocide]] victims,{{sfn|Basso|2024|p=21}} and their homes are razed or stolen.{{sfn|Basso|2024|loc="Cultural Destruction"}} Although definitions vary, [[cultural genocide]] usually refers to tactics that target a group by means other than attacking its physical, biological existence.{{sfn|Tiemessen|2023|p=15}} It encompasses attacks against the victims' language, religion, [[cultural heritage]], political and intellectual leaders, and traditional lifestyle,{{sfn|Tiemessen|2023|p=15}}{{sfn|Basso|2024|loc="Cultural Destruction"}} and is commonly encountered even in cases where it is not the primary means of group destruction.{{sfn|Jones|2023|pp=42–43}} Along with the abduction of children from the victimized group, such as [[American Indian boarding schools|residential schools]], cultural genocide is particularly common during settler-colonial consolidation.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=213–214}}{{sfn|Adhikari|2023|p=43}}{{sfn| Watenpaugh |2022|p=51}} Perpetrators often deny indigenous' groups existence and identity.{{sfn| Watenpaugh |2022|p=37}} | |||
== Reactions == | == Reactions == | ||
[[File: | <!-- [[File:Amhara activists march across London's Parliament Square protesting against anti-Amhara violence in Ethiopia.jpg|thumb|[[Amhara people|Amhara]] activists protesting in London against [[Persecution of Amhara people|anti-Amhara violence in Ethiopia]].]] --> | ||
[[File:Ezidi Peshmerga soldiers at their base in the Sinjar Mountains, under the command of Qasim Shesho 02.jpg|thumb|[[Yazidi]] [[Peshmerga]] soldiers at a base in the [[Sinjar Mountains]]]] | |||
According to [[rational choice theory]], it should be possible to intervene to prevent genocide by raising the costs of engaging in such violence relative to alternatives.{{sfn|Kathman|Wood|2011|p=738}} Although there are a number of organizations that compile lists of states where genocide is considered likely to occur,{{sfn|Nyseth Nzitatira|2022|pp=67–68}} the accuracy of these predictions are not known and there is no scholarly consensus over evidence-based [[genocide prevention]] strategies.{{sfn|Nyseth Nzitatira|2022|p=68}} Intervention to prevent genocide has often been considered a failure{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=16}}{{sfn|Moyd|2022|p=250}} because most countries prioritize business, trade, and diplomatic relationships:{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=3, 41}}{{sfn|Nyseth Nzitatira|2022|p=68}} as a consequence, "the usual powerful actors continue to use violence against vulnerable populations with impunity".{{sfn|Moyd|2022|p=250}} | |||
[[Responsibility to protect]] is a doctrine that emerged around 2000, in the aftermath of several genocides around the world, that seeks to balance state sovereignty with the need for international intervention to prevent genocide.{{sfn|Bachman|2022|p=119}} However, disagreements in the [[United Nations Security Council]] and lack of political will have hampered the implementation of this doctrine.{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=16}} Although [[humanitarian intervention|military intervention to halt genocide]] has been credited with reducing violence in some cases, it remains deeply controversial{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=17}} and is usually illegal.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=21}} Researcher [[Gregory H. Stanton]] found that calling crimes genocide rather than something else, such as ethnic cleansing, increased the chance of effective intervention.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|p=43}} <!-- Perhaps for this reason, states are often reluctant to recognize crimes as genocide while they are taking place. --> | |||
Protracted armed resistance by the intended victims is characteristic of many settler genocides, often enabling the perpetrators to justify the genocide as self-defense of its own population.{{sfn|Watenpaugh|2022|p=37}} Almost all genocides are brought to an end either by the military defeat of the perpetrators or the accomplishment of their aims.{{sfn|Bellamy|McLoughlin|2022|p=303}} | |||
== History == | == History == | ||
{{Main|Genocides in history | {{Main|Genocides in history|List of genocides}} | ||
[[File:Russian soldiers Sheykhalan 1915.jpg|thumb|Remains of victims of the [[Armenian genocide]] in the former Armenian village of Sheykhalan near [[Muş|Mush]], 1915]] | |||
[[File: | |||
Lemkin applied the concept of genocide to a wide variety of events throughout [[human history]]. He and other scholars date the first genocides to [[prehistoric times]].{{sfn|Naimark|2017|p=vii}}{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=31}}{{sfn|Irvin-Erickson|2023|p=11}} Prior to the advent of [[civilizations]] consisting of [[sedentary]] [[agriculture|farmers]], humans lived in tribal societies, with intertribal warfare often ending with the obliteration of the defeated tribe, killing of adult males and integration of women and children into the victorious tribe.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=203–204}} Ancient sources like the [[Genocide in the Hebrew Bible|Hebrew Bible]] contain events that have been cited as describing genocide.{{sfn|Naimark|2017|pp=7–9}}{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=50–51}} The massacre of men and the enslavement or forced assimilation of women and children—often [[urbicide|limited to a particular town or city]] rather than applied to a larger group—is a common feature of ancient warfare as described in written sources.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|pp=39, 50}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|loc=The Origins of Genocide}} The events that some scholars consider genocide in ancient and medieval times had more pragmatic than ideological motivations.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=43}} As a result, some scholars such as [[Mark Levene]] argue that genocide is inherently connected to the modern state—thus to the rise of the West in the early modern era and its expansion outside Europe—and earlier conflicts cannot be described as genocide.{{sfn|Weiss-Wendt|2022|p=170}}{{sfn|Jones|2023|p=84}} | |||
{{ | |||
Although all empires rely on violence, often extreme violence, to establish their own existence,{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|p=219}} they may also seek to preserve and rule the conquered rather than eradicate them.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|p=219}} Alternatives to genocide might include policies of [[cultural integration|integration]] (via [[enslavement]] or otherwise), or of [[exile]]. Although the desire to exploit populations could disincentivize extermination,{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|p=211}} imperial rule could lead to genocide if resistance emerged.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|p=220}} Ancient and medieval genocides were often committed by empires.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=43}} Unlike traditional empires, [[settler colonialism]]—particularly the settlement of Europeans outside of Europe—is characterized by militarized populations of settlers in remote areas beyond effective state control. Rather than labor or economic surplus, settlers want to acquire land from indigenous people{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=212–213}} making genocide more likely than with classical colonialism.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=218–219}} While the lack of law enforcement on the frontier ensured [[impunity]] for settler violence, the advance of state authority enabled settlers to consolidate their gains using the legal system.{{sfn|Adhikari|2023|pp=45–46}} | |||
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might include policies of [[cultural integration | integration]] (via [[enslavement]] or otherwise), or of [[exile]]. Although the desire to exploit populations could | |||
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}} | |||
Ancient and medieval genocides were often committed by empires.{{sfn|Lemos|Taylor|Kiernan|2023|p=43}} Unlike traditional empires, [[settler colonialism]]—particularly the settlement of Europeans outside of Europe—is characterized by militarized populations of settlers in remote areas beyond effective state control. Rather than labor or economic surplus, settlers want to acquire land from indigenous people{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=212–213}} making genocide more likely than with classical colonialism.{{sfn|Häussler|Stucki|Veracini|2022|pp=218–219}} While the lack of law enforcement on the frontier ensured [[impunity]] for settler violence, the advance of state authority enabled settlers to consolidate their gains using the legal system.{{sfn|Adhikari|2023|pp=45–46}} | |||
Genocide was committed on a large scale during both [[world war]]s. The prototypical genocide, the Holocaust, involved such large-scale logistics that it reinforced the impression that genocide was the result of civilization drifting off course and required both the "weapons and infrastructure of the modern state and the radical ambitions of the modern man".{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=7}} [[Scientific racism]] and nationalism were common ideological drivers of many twentieth century genocides.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=8}} After the horrors of [[World War II]], the United Nations attempted to proscribe genocide via the Genocide Convention. Despite the promise of "[[never again]]" and the international effort to outlaw genocide, the practice has continued to occur repeatedly | Genocide was committed on a large scale during both [[world war]]s. The prototypical genocide, the Holocaust, involved such large-scale logistics that it reinforced the impression that genocide was the result of civilization drifting off course and required both the "weapons and infrastructure of the modern state and the radical ambitions of the modern man".{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=7}} [[Scientific racism]] and nationalism were common ideological drivers of many twentieth century genocides.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|p=8}} After the horrors of [[World War II]], the United Nations attempted to proscribe genocide via the Genocide Convention.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=1–2}} Despite the promise of "[[never again]]" and the international effort to outlaw genocide, the practice has continued to occur repeatedly.{{sfn|Ochab|Alton|2022|pp=1–2}} The [[Cold War]] included the perpetration of mass killings by both communist and anti-communist states, although these atrocities usually targeted political and social groups, therefore not meeting the legal definition of genocide.{{sfn|Naimark|2017|pp=86, 104, 143}} The 1990s saw a surge of ethnic violence in the [[former Yugoslavia]] and [[Rwandan genocide|Rwanda]] that led to a resurgence in interest in genocide.{{sfn|Kiernan ''et al.''|2023|pp=17–18}} In the twenty-first century, new communications technologies have also transformed genocide, with both perpetrators and victims able to communicate instantly across borders and raise transnational support.{{sfn|Williams|2024|p=115}}{{sfn|Shaw|2025}} | ||
{{ | |||
== Effects and aftermath == | == Effects and aftermath == | ||
{{see also|Genocide recognition politics}} | {{see also|Genocide recognition politics}} | ||
[[File: | [[File:Street View of Rizgary - Former Sumud Relocation Camp for Anfal Genocide Survivors - Kurdistan - Iraq.jpg|thumb|Relocation camp for survivors of the [[Anfal genocide]]]] | ||
In the aftermath of genocide, | [[File:Protest against War Crimes at Shahabag Square (8459696133).jpg|thumb|A 2013 protest calling for execution of the perpetrators of the 1971 [[Bangladesh genocide]]]] | ||
In the aftermath of genocide, many survivors attempt to prosecute perpetrators through the legal system and obtain recognition and reparations.{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=2}} Except where the perpetrators were militarily defeated, for example following the Holocaust and the [[Rwandan genocide]], the victims are usually unsuccessful.{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=24}}{{sfn|Vollhardt|Twali|2019|pp=275–276}} Most of the states that have perpetrated genocide and their patriotic citizens [[genocide denial|deny]] or ignore it,{{sfn|Vollhardt|Twali|2019|pp=249, 255, 275}} reject responsibility for the harms suffered by victims,{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|pp=2, 16}} and want to draw a line under the past.{{sfn|Vollhardt|Twali|2019|p=260}} Even an acknowledgement of victims' suffering remains elusive, despite the fact that such acknowledgement has been shown to improve relations both between perpetrator and victim groups as well as with third parties.{{sfn|Vollhardt|Twali|2019|p=254}} | |||
Much of the qualitative research on genocide has focused on the testimonies of victims, survivors, and other eyewitnesses.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=7}} Studies of genocide survivors have examined rates of depression, anxiety, [[schizophrenia]], suicide, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], and [[post-traumatic growth]]. While some have found negative results, others find no association with genocide survival.{{sfn|Lindert ''et al.''|2019|p=2}} There are no consistent findings that children of genocide survivors have worse health than comparable individuals.{{sfn|Lindert ''et al.''|2017|p=246}} Most societies are able to recover demographically from genocide, but this is dependent on their position early in the [[demographic transition]].{{sfn|Kugler|2016|pp=119–120}} | The effects of genocide on societies are under-researched.{{sfn|Mulaj|2021|p=2}} Much of the qualitative research on genocide has focused on the testimonies of victims, survivors, and other eyewitnesses.{{sfn|Anderson|Jessee|2020|p=7}} Studies of genocide survivors have examined rates of depression, anxiety, [[schizophrenia]], suicide, [[post-traumatic stress disorder]], and [[post-traumatic growth]]. While some have found negative results, others find no association with genocide survival.{{sfn|Lindert ''et al.''|2019|p=2}} There are no consistent findings that children of genocide survivors have worse health than comparable individuals.{{sfn|Lindert ''et al.''|2017|p=246}} Most societies are able to recover demographically from genocide, but this is dependent on their position early in the [[demographic transition]]{{what?|Reason=How? In what way?|date=November 2025}}.{{sfn|Kugler|2016|pp=119–120}} In the aftermath of genocide, many survivors experience forced displacement from their homes and may face additional challenges due to being labeled as immigration offenders. Success at rebuilding lives in another country is high despite the survivors' limited resources upon arrival.{{sfn|Asquith|2019|pp=2, 4}} | ||
Because genocide is often perceived as the "crime of crimes", it grabs attention more effectively than other violations of international law.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=22}} Consequently, victims of atrocities often label their suffering genocide as an attempt to gain attention to their plight and attract foreign intervention.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=23}} Although remembering genocide is often perceived as a way to develop tolerance and respect for human rights,{{sfn|Barsalou|Baxter|2007}} the charge of genocide often leads to increased [[Group cohesiveness|cohesion]] among the targeted people—in some cases, it has been incorporated into [[national identity]]—and stokes enmity towards the group blamed for the crime, reducing the chance of reconciliation and increasing the risk of future occurrence of genocide.{{sfn|Sands|2017|p=364}}{{sfn|Stone|Jinks|2022|p=258}} Some genocides are commemorated in memorials or museums.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=151}} | Because genocide is often perceived as the "crime of crimes", it grabs attention more effectively than other violations of international law.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=22}} Consequently, victims of atrocities often label their suffering genocide as an attempt to gain attention to their plight and attract foreign intervention.{{sfn|Moses|2023|p=23}} Although remembering genocide is often perceived as a way to develop tolerance and respect for human rights,{{sfn|Barsalou|Baxter|2007}} the charge of genocide often leads to increased [[Group cohesiveness|cohesion]] among the targeted people—in some cases, it has been incorporated into [[national identity]]—and stokes enmity towards the group blamed for the crime, reducing the chance of reconciliation and increasing the risk of future occurrence of genocide.{{sfn|Sands|2017|p=364}}{{sfn|Stone|Jinks|2022|p=258}} Some genocides are commemorated in memorials or museums.{{sfn|Stone|2013|p=151}} | ||
==Notes== | |||
{{Notelist}} | |||
== References == | == References == | ||
{{ | {{Reflist |20em}} | ||
=== Bibliography === | === Bibliography === | ||
==== Books ==== | ==== Books ==== | ||
{{ | {{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}} | ||
*{{cite book |last1=Asquith |first1=Linda |title=Rebuilding Lives After Genocide: Migration, Adaptation and Acculturation |date=2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-030-14074-8 |language=en}} | |||
* {{cite book |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey S. |title=The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect |date=2022 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=978-1-9788-2147-7 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey S. |title=The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect |date=2022 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=978-1-9788-2147-7 |language=en}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Basso |first1=Andrew R. |title=Destroy Them Gradually: Displacement as Atrocity |date=2024 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=978-1-9788-3130-8 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Basso |first1=Andrew R. |title=Destroy Them Gradually: Displacement as Atrocity |date=2024 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |isbn=978-1-9788-3130-8 |language=en}} | ||
* {{cite book |last=Ihrig |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Ihrig |date=2016 |title=Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler |title-link=Justifying Genocide |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-50479-0}} | * {{cite book |last=Ihrig |first=Stefan |author-link=Stefan Ihrig |date=2016 |title=Justifying Genocide: Germany and the Armenians from Bismarck to Hitler |title-link=Justifying Genocide |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-50479-0}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Adam |author-link=Adam Jones (Canadian scholar) |title=Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction |date=2023 |edition=4th |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-000-95870-6 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Adam |author-link=Adam Jones (Canadian scholar) |title=Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction |date=2023 |edition=4th |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] |isbn=978-1-000-95870-6 |language=en}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Maynard |first1=Jonathan Leader |title=Ideology and Mass Killing: The Radicalized Security Politics of Genocides and Deadly Atrocities |date=2022 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-108266-5 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Maynard |first1=Jonathan Leader |title=Ideology and Mass Killing: The Radicalized Security Politics of Genocides and Deadly Atrocities |date=2022 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-108266-5 |language=en}} | ||
| Line 267: | Line 158: | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Weiss-Wendt |first1=Anton |author1-link=Anton Weiss-Wendt |title=The Soviet Union and the Gutting of the UN Genocide Convention |date=2017 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-31290-9 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Weiss-Wendt |first1=Anton |author1-link=Anton Weiss-Wendt |title=The Soviet Union and the Gutting of the UN Genocide Convention |date=2017 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-31290-9 |language=en}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Timothy |title=The Complexity of Evil: Perpetration and Genocide |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52460 |date=2020 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |hdl=20.500.12657/52460 |isbn=978-1-9788-1431-8 |language=en}} | * {{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Timothy |title=The Complexity of Evil: Perpetration and Genocide |url=https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/52460 |date=2020 |publisher=[[Rutgers University Press]] |hdl=20.500.12657/52460 |isbn=978-1-9788-1431-8 |language=en}} | ||
{{ | {{Refend}} | ||
==== Collections ==== | ==== Collections ==== | ||
{{ | {{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Kjell |last2=Jessee |first2=Erin |title=Researching Perpetrators of Genocide |date=2020 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-32970-9 |language=en |chapter=Introduction}} | * {{cite book |last1=Anderson |first1=Kjell |last2=Jessee |first2=Erin |title=Researching Perpetrators of Genocide |date=2020 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-32970-9 |language=en |chapter=Introduction}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey |title=The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism |date=2021b |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-29901-9 |pages=1012–1022 |language=en |chapter=Genocide and Imperialism}} | * {{cite book |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey |title=The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism |date=2021b |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-030-29901-9 |pages=1012–1022 |language=en |chapter=Genocide and Imperialism}} | ||
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Bloxham |editor1-first=Donald |editor1-link=Donald Bloxham |editor2-last=Moses |editor2-first=A. Dirk|editor-link2=A. Dirk Moses |title=The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-161361-6}} | *{{cite book |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey S. |last2=Ruiz |first2=Esther Brito |title=A Modern History of Forgotten Genocides and Mass Atrocities |date=2024 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-040-22493-9 |language=en |chapter=Editors' Preface}} | ||
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Bloxham |editor1-first=Donald |editor1-link=Donald Bloxham |editor2-last=Moses |editor2-first=A. Dirk |editor-link2=A. Dirk Moses |title=The Oxford Handbook of Genocide Studies |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-161361-6 |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232116 |doi-broken-date=26 October 2025}} | |||
** {{harvc |last=Schabas |first=William A. |author-link=William Schabas |chapter=The Law and Genocide |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2010 |pages=123–141}} | ** {{harvc |last=Schabas |first=William A. |author-link=William Schabas |chapter=The Law and Genocide |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2010 |pages=123–141}} | ||
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Bloxham |editor1-first=Donald |editor1-link=Donald Bloxham |editor2-last=Moses |editor2-first=A. Dirk |editor2-link=A. Dirk Moses |title=Genocide: Key Themes | * {{cite book |editor1-last=Bloxham |editor1-first=Donald |editor1-link=Donald Bloxham |editor2-last=Moses |editor2-first=A. Dirk |editor2-link=A. Dirk Moses |year=2022 |title=Genocide: Key Themes |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-286526-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lptlEAAAQBAJ |access-date=19 May 2025}} | ||
** {{harvc |last=Nyseth Nzitatira |first=Hollie |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=45–74 |contribution=Predicting genocide}} | ** {{harvc |last=Nyseth Nzitatira |first=Hollie |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=45–74 |contribution=Predicting genocide}} | ||
** {{harvc |first=Elisa |last=von Joeden-Forgey|in1=Bloxham|in2=Moses|year=2022|pp=100–131 |contribution=Gender and genocide}} | ** {{harvc |first=Elisa |last=von Joeden-Forgey |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=100–131 |contribution=Gender and genocide}} | ||
** {{harvc |last1=Weiss-Wendt |first1=Anton |author1-link=Anton Weiss-Wendt |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=161–190 |contribution=The state and genocide}} | ** {{harvc |last1=Weiss-Wendt |first1=Anton |author1-link=Anton Weiss-Wendt |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=161–190 |contribution=The state and genocide}} | ||
** {{harvc |first1=Matthias | | ** {{harvc |last1=Häussler |first1=Matthias |last2=Stucki |first2=Andreas |last3=Veracini |first3=Lorenzo |author3-link=Lorenzo Veracini |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=191–221 |contribution=Genocide and Empire}} | ||
** {{harvc | | ** {{harvc |last=Moyd |first=Michelle |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=222–252 |contribution=Genocide and War}} | ||
** {{harvc |first1=Dan |last1=Stone |first2=Rebecca |last2=Jinks |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=253–276 |contribution=Genocide and memory}} | ** {{harvc |first1=Dan |last1=Stone |first2=Rebecca |last2=Jinks |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022 |pp=253–276 |contribution=Genocide and memory}} | ||
** {{harvc |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |last2=McLoughlin |first2=Stephen |contribution=Genocide and Military Intervention |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022}} | ** {{harvc |last=Bellamy |first=Alex J. |last2=McLoughlin |first2=Stephen |contribution=Genocide and Military Intervention |in1=Bloxham |in2=Moses |year=2022}} | ||
| Line 294: | Line 186: | ||
* {{cite book |last=Mulaj |first=Klejda |title=Postgenocide: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Effects of Genocide |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-264825-9 |chapter=Introduction: Postgenocide: Living with Permutations of Genocide Harms}} | * {{cite book |last=Mulaj |first=Klejda |title=Postgenocide: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Effects of Genocide |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-264825-9 |chapter=Introduction: Postgenocide: Living with Permutations of Genocide Harms}} | ||
*{{cite book |editor1-last=Simon |editor1-first=David J. |editor2-last=Kahn |editor2-first=Leora |title=Handbook of Genocide Studies |date=2023 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-80037-934-3 |language=en}} | *{{cite book |editor1-last=Simon |editor1-first=David J. |editor2-last=Kahn |editor2-first=Leora |title=Handbook of Genocide Studies |date=2023 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-80037-934-3 |language=en}} | ||
** {{harvc |last=Irvin-Erickson |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Irvin-Erickson |chapter=The history of | ** {{harvc |last=Irvin-Erickson |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Irvin-Erickson |chapter=The history of Raphaël Lemkin and the UN Genocide Convention |title=Handbook of Genocide Studies |in1=Simon |in2=Kahn |year=2023 |chapter-url=https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781800379343/book-part-9781800379343-9.xml |pp=7–26}} | ||
** {{harvc |last=Adhikari |first=Mohamed |author-link=Mohamed Adhikari |chapter=Destroying to replace: reflections on motive forces behind civilian-driven violence in settler genocides of Indigenous peoples |pp=42–53 |in1=Simon |in2=Kahn |year=2023}} | ** {{harvc |last=Adhikari |first=Mohamed |author-link=Mohamed Adhikari |chapter=Destroying to replace: reflections on motive forces behind civilian-driven violence in settler genocides of Indigenous peoples |title=Handbook of Genocide Studies |pp=42–53 |in1=Simon |in2=Kahn |year=2023}} | ||
** {{harvc |last=Anderton |first=Charles H. |chapter=Genocide prevention: perspectives from psychological and social economic choice models |pp=142–156 |in1=Simon |in2=Kahn |year=2023}} | ** {{harvc |last=Anderton |first=Charles H. |chapter=Genocide prevention: perspectives from psychological and social economic choice models |title=Handbook of Genocide Studies |pp=142–156 |in1=Simon |in2=Kahn |year=2023}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Dan |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |date=2008 |title=The Historiography of Genocide |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-0-230-29778-4}} | * {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Dan |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |date=2008 |title=The Historiography of Genocide |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |isbn=978-0-230-29778-4}} | ||
** {{harvc |last1=Curthoys |first1=Ann |author1-link=Ann Curthoys |last2=Docker |first2=John |chapter=Defining Genocide |pp=9–41 |in1=Stone |year=2008}} | ** {{harvc |last1=Curthoys |first1=Ann |author1-link=Ann Curthoys |last2=Docker |first2=John |chapter=Defining Genocide |title=The Historiography of Genocide |pp=9–41 |in1=Stone |year=2008}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Dan |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |title=The Holocaust, Fascism and Memory: Essays in the History of Ideas |date=2013 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] UK |isbn=978-1-137-02953-9 |pages=143–156 |language=en |chapter=Genocide and Memory}} | * {{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Dan |author1-link=Dan Stone (historian) |title=The Holocaust, Fascism and Memory: Essays in the History of Ideas |date=2013 |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] UK |isbn=978-1-137-02953-9 |pages=143–156 |language=en |chapter=Genocide and Memory}} | ||
{{ | * {{cite book |last=Tiemessen |first=Alana |title=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies |chapter=Cultural Genocide in Law and Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2023 | isbn=978-0-19-084662-6}} | ||
* {{cite book |last1=Vollhardt |first1=Johanna Ray |last2=Twali |first2=Michelle Sinayobye |title=Confronting Humanity at its Worst |chapter=The Aftermath of Genocide: Divergent Social Psychological Processes Among Victim and Perpetrator Groups |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2019 |isbn=978-0-19-068594-2}} | |||
*{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Timothy |title=Genocide Studies: Pathways Ahead |date=2024 |publisher=Rutgers University Press |isbn=978-1-9788-3236-7 |pages=113–132 |language=en |chapter=5 Genocide in the Digital Era}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
==== Journals ==== | ==== Journals ==== | ||
{{ | {{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey S. |date=2021a |title=Situating Contributions from Underrepresented Groups and Geographies within the Field of Genocide Studies |journal=[[International Studies Perspectives]] |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=361–382 |doi=10.1093/isp/ekaa011}} | * {{cite journal |last1=Bachman |first1=Jeffrey S. |date=2021a |title=Situating Contributions from Underrepresented Groups and Geographies within the Field of Genocide Studies |journal=[[International Studies Perspectives]] |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=361–382 |doi=10.1093/isp/ekaa011}} | ||
* {{Cite journal |last1=Barsalou |first1=Judy |last2=Baxter |first2=Victoria |date=January 2007 |title=The Urge to Remember: The Role of Memorials in Social Reconstruction and Transitional Justice |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/srs5.pdf |journal=Stabilization and Reconstruction |volume=Series 5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209190424/http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/srs5.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 February 2015}} | * {{Cite journal |last1=Barsalou |first1=Judy |last2=Baxter |first2=Victoria |date=January 2007 |title=The Urge to Remember: The Role of Memorials in Social Reconstruction and Transitional Justice |url=https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/srs5.pdf |journal=Stabilization and Reconstruction |volume=Series 5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209190424/http://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/srs5.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 February 2015}} | ||
* {{cite journal | | * {{cite journal |last1=Gurmendi Dunkelberg |first1=Alonso |date=22 January 2025 |title=How to Hide a Genocide: Modern/Colonial International Law and the Construction of Impunity |journal=[[Journal of Genocide Research]] |issue=Forum: Israel-Palestine: Atrocity Crimes and the Crisis of Holocaust and Genocide Studies |pages=1–24 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2025.2454739 |doi-access=free}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Kathman |first1=Jacob D. |last2=Wood |first2=Reed M. |title=Managing Threat, Cost, and Incentive to Kill: The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Intervention in Mass Killings |journal=[[Journal of Conflict Resolution]] |date=2011 |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=735–760 |doi=10.1177/0022002711408006}} | * {{cite journal |last1=Kathman |first1=Jacob D. |last2=Wood |first2=Reed M. |title=Managing Threat, Cost, and Incentive to Kill: The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Intervention in Mass Killings |journal=[[Journal of Conflict Resolution]] |date=2011 |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=735–760 |doi=10.1177/0022002711408006}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Lindert |first1=Jutta |last2=Kawachi |first2=Ichiro |last3=Knobler |first3=Haim Y. |last4=Abramowitz |first4=Moshe Z. |last5=Galea |first5=Sandro |last6=Roberts |first6=Bayard |last7=Mollica |first7=Richard |last8=McKee |first8=Martin |title=The long-term health consequences of genocide: developing GESQUQ - a genocide studies checklist |journal=Conflict and Health |date=2019 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=14 |doi=10.1186/s13031-019-0198-9 |doi-access=free |pmid=31011364 |pmc=6460659 |issn=1752-1505 |ref={{sfnref|Lindert et al.|2019}}}} | * {{cite journal |last1=Lindert |first1=Jutta |last2=Kawachi |first2=Ichiro |last3=Knobler |first3=Haim Y. |last4=Abramowitz |first4=Moshe Z. |last5=Galea |first5=Sandro |last6=Roberts |first6=Bayard |last7=Mollica |first7=Richard |last8=McKee |first8=Martin |title=The long-term health consequences of genocide: developing GESQUQ - a genocide studies checklist |journal=Conflict and Health |date=2019 |volume=13 |issue=1 |pages=14 |doi=10.1186/s13031-019-0198-9 |doi-access=free |pmid=31011364 |pmc=6460659 |issn=1752-1505 |ref={{sfnref|Lindert et al.|2019}}}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Lindert |first1=Jutta |last2=Knobler |first2=Haim Y. |last3=Kawachi |first3=Ichiro |last4=Bain |first4=Paul A. |last5=Abramowitz |first5=Moshe Z. |last6=McKee |first6=Charlotte |last7=Reinharz |first7=Shula |last8=McKee |first8=Martin |title=Psychopathology of children of genocide survivors: a systematic review on the impact of genocide on their children's psychopathology from five countries |journal=[[International Journal of Epidemiology]] |date=2017 |pages=246–257 |ref={{sfnref|Lindert et al.|2017}}}} | * {{cite journal |last1=Lindert |first1=Jutta |last2=Knobler |first2=Haim Y. |last3=Kawachi |first3=Ichiro |last4=Bain |first4=Paul A. |last5=Abramowitz |first5=Moshe Z. |last6=McKee |first6=Charlotte |last7=Reinharz |first7=Shula |last8=McKee |first8=Martin |title=Psychopathology of children of genocide survivors: a systematic review on the impact of genocide on their children's psychopathology from five countries |journal=[[International Journal of Epidemiology]] |date=2017 |pages=246–257 |ref={{sfnref|Lindert et al.|2017}}}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Luft |first1=Aliza |title=Three Stories and Three Questions about Participation in Genocide |journal=[[Journal of Perpetrator Research]] |date=2020 |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi= | * {{cite journal |last1=Luft |first1=Aliza |title=Three Stories and Three Questions about Participation in Genocide |journal=[[Journal of Perpetrator Research]] |date=2020 |volume=3 |issue=1 |doi=10.21039/jpr.3.1.37 |issn=2514-7897 |pages=196– |doi-access=free}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=McDoom |first1=Omar Shahabudin |author1-link=Omar Shahabudin McDoom |title=Radicalization as cause and consequence of violence in genocides and mass killings |journal=[[Violence (journal)|Violence]] |date=2020 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=123–143 |doi= | * {{cite journal |last1=McDoom |first1=Omar Shahabudin |author1-link=Omar Shahabudin McDoom |title=Radicalization as cause and consequence of violence in genocides and mass killings |journal=[[Violence (journal)|Violence]] |date=2020 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=123–143 |doi=10.1177/2633002420904267 |language=en |issn=2633-0024 |doi-access=free}} | ||
* {{cite journal |last1=Ozoráková |first1=Lilla |title=The Road to Finding a Definition for the Crime of Genocide – the Importance of the Genocide Convention |journal=The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals |date=2022 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=278–301 |doi=10.1163/15718034-12341475 |issn=1569-1853}} | * {{cite journal |last1=Ozoráková |first1=Lilla |title=The Road to Finding a Definition for the Crime of Genocide – the Importance of the Genocide Convention |journal=The Law & Practice of International Courts and Tribunals |date=2022 |volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=278–301 |doi=10.1163/15718034-12341475 |issn=1569-1853}} | ||
{{ | *{{cite journal |last1=Shaw |first1=Martin|authorlink=Martin Shaw (sociologist) |title=The Genocide that Changed the World |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |date=2025 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2025.2556575}} | ||
*{{cite journal |last1=Sysyn |first1=Frank E. |last2=Theriault |first2=Henry C. |title=Editors' Introduction: Starvation and Genocide |journal=Genocide Studies International |date=2017 |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=1–7 |doi=10.3138/gsi.11.1.00}} | |||
*{{cite journal |last1=Watenpaugh |first1=Keith David |title=“Kill the Armenian/Indian; Save the Turk/Man: Carceral Humanitarianism, the Transfer of Children and a Comparative History of Indigenous Genocide” |journal=Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies |date=2022 |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=35–67 |doi=10.1163/26670038-12342771}} | |||
{{Refend}} | |||
==== Other sources ==== | ==== Other sources ==== | ||
{{ | {{Refbegin |30em |indent=yes}} | ||
* {{cite report |date=n.d. |title=When to Refer to a Situation as "Genocide" |url=https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/assets/pdf/GuidanceNote-When%20to%20refer%20to%20a%20situation%20as%20genocide.pdf |publisher=United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect |access-date=22 December 2024 |ref={{harvid|UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect|n.d.}}}} | * {{cite report |date=n.d. |title=When to Refer to a Situation as "Genocide" |url=https://www.un.org/en/preventgenocide/rwanda/assets/pdf/GuidanceNote-When%20to%20refer%20to%20a%20situation%20as%20genocide.pdf |publisher=United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect |access-date=22 December 2024 |ref={{harvid|UN Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect|n.d.}}}} | ||
{{ | {{Refend}} | ||
{{Subject bar |auto=y |wikt=yes |portal1=Crime }} | |||
{{genocide topics}} | {{genocide topics}} | ||
{{international Criminal Law}} | {{international Criminal Law}} | ||
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[[Category:Mass murder]] | [[Category:Mass murder]] | ||
[[Category:Racism]] | [[Category:Racism]] | ||
[[Category:Atrocity crimes]] | |||
Latest revision as of 21:33, 19 November 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "other uses". Template:Protection padlock Template:Use dmy dates Template:Genocide
Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfn Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by means such as "the disintegration of [its] political and social institutions, of [its] culture, language, national feelings, religion, and [its] economic existence".Template:Sfn
Genocide has occurred throughout human history, even during prehistoric times. Most genocides have occurred during wartime, and they are particularly likely in situations of imperial expansion and power consolidation. It is associated with colonialism, especially settler colonialism, as well as with both world wars and repressive governments in the twentieth century. The colloquial understanding of genocide is heavily influenced by the Holocaust as its archetype and is conceived as innocent victims being targeted for their ethnic identity rather than for any political reason.
Genocide is widely considered to be the epitome of human evil and is often referred to as the "crime of crimes"; consequently, events are often denounced as genocide.
Origins
Polish-Jewish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined the term genocide between 1941 and 1943.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Lemkin's coinage combined the Greek word Script error: No such module "Lang". (Script error: No such module "Lang"., "race, people") with the Latin suffix Script error: No such module "Lang". ("act of killing").Template:Sfn He submitted the manuscript for his book Axis Rule in Occupied Europe to the publisher in early 1942 and it was published in 1944 as the Holocaust was coming to light outside Europe.Template:Sfn Lemkin's proposal was more ambitious than simply outlawing this type of mass slaughter. He also thought that the law against genocide could promote more tolerant and pluralistic societies.Template:Sfn His response to Nazi criminality was sharply different from that of another international law scholar, Hersch Lauterpacht, who argued that it was essential to protect individuals from atrocities whether or not they were targeted as members of a group.Template:Sfn
According to Lemkin, the central definition of genocide was "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" in which its members were not targeted as individuals, but rather as members of the group. The objectives of genocide "would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national groups".Template:Sfn These were not separate crimes but different aspects of the same genocidal process.Template:Sfn Lemkin's definition of nation was sufficiently broad to apply to nearly any type of human collectivity, even one based on a trivial characteristic.Template:Sfn He saw genocide as an inherently colonial process, and in his later writings he analyzed what he described as the colonial genocides occurring within European colonies as well as the Soviet and Nazi empires.Template:Sfn Furthermore, his definition of genocidal acts, which was to replace the national pattern of the victim with that of the perpetrator, was much broader than the five types that were later enumerated in the Genocide Convention.Template:Sfn Lemkin considered genocide to have occurred since the beginning of human history and dated the efforts to criminalize it to the Spanish critics of colonial excesses Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolomé de Las Casas.Template:Sfn The Polish court that convicted SS official Arthur Greiser in 1946 was the first to mention the term in a verdict, using Lemkin's original definition.Template:Sfn
Crime
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Development
According to the legal instrument used to prosecute defeated German leaders at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, atrocity crimes were only prosecutable by international justice if they were committed as part of an illegal war of aggression. The powers prosecuting the trial were unwilling to restrict a government's actions against its own citizens.Template:Sfn
In order to criminalize peacetime genocide, Lemkin brought his proposal to criminalize genocide to the newly established United Nations in 1946.Template:Sfn Opposition to the convention was greater than Lemkin expected due to states' concerns that it would lead their own policies—including treatment of indigenous peoples, European colonialism, racial segregation in the United States, and Soviet nationalities policy—to be labeled genocide. Before the convention was passed, powerful countries (both Western powers and the Soviet Union) secured changes in an attempt to make the convention unenforceable and applicable to their geopolitical rivals' actions but not their own.Template:Sfn Few formerly colonized countries were represented and "most states had no interest in empowering their victims– past, present, and future".Template:Sfn
The result narrowed Lemkin's original concept;Template:Sfn he privately considered it a failure.Template:Sfn Lemkin's anti-colonial conception of genocide was transformed into one that favored colonial powers.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Among the violence freed from the stigma of genocide was the destruction of political groups, which the Soviet Union is particularly blamed for blocking.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although Lemkin credited women's NGOs with securing the passage of the convention, the gendered violence of forced pregnancy, marriage, and divorce was left out.Template:Sfn Additionally omitted was the forced migration of populations—which had been carried out by the Soviet Union and its allies, condoned by the Western powers, against millions of Germans from central and Eastern Europe.Template:Sfn
Genocide Convention
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Two years after passing a resolution affirming the criminalization of genocide, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Genocide Convention on 9 December 1948.Template:Sfn It came into effect on 12 January 1951 after 20 countries ratified it without reservations.Template:Sfn The convention defines genocide as:
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... any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:Template:Plainlist
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A specific "intent to destroy" is the mens rea requirement of genocide.Template:Sfn The issue of what it means to destroy a group "as such" and how to prove the required intent has been difficult for courts to resolve. The legal system has also struggled with how much of a group can be targeted before triggering the Genocide Convention.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The two main approaches to intent are the purposive approach, where the perpetrator expressly wants to destroy the group, and the knowledge-based approach, where the perpetrator understands that destruction of the protected group will result from his actions.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Intent is the most difficult aspect for prosecutors to prove;Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn the perpetrators often claim that they merely sought the removal of the group from a given territory, instead of destruction as such,Template:Sfn or that the genocidal actions were collateral damage of military activity.Template:Sfn
Attempted genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, incitement to genocide, and complicity in genocide are criminalized.Template:Sfn The convention does not allow the retroactive prosecution of events that took place prior to 1951.Template:Sfn Signatories are also required to prevent genocide and prosecute its perpetrators.Template:Sfn Many countries have incorporated genocide into their municipal law, varying to a lesser or greater extent from the convention.Template:Sfn The convention's definition of genocide was adopted verbatim by the ad hoc international criminal tribunals and by the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC).Template:Sfn The crime of genocide also exists in customary international law and is therefore prohibited for non-signatories.[1]
Prosecutions
During the Cold War, genocide remained at the level of rhetoric because both superpowers (the United States and the Soviet Union) felt vulnerable to accusations of genocide and were therefore unwilling to press charges against the other party.Template:Sfn Despite political pressure to charge "Soviet genocide", the United States government refused to ratify the convention, fearing countercharges.Template:Sfn Authorities have been reluctant to prosecute the perpetrators of many genocides, although non-judicial commissions of inquiry have also been created by some states.Template:Sfn
International courts have found a small number of events as constituting genocide, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Srebrenica genocide.Template:Sfn The first head of state to be convicted of genocide was Khieu Samphan in 2018 for the Cambodian genocide.Template:Sfn Although it is widely recognized that punishment of the perpetrators cannot be of an order with their crimes, the trials often serve other purposes such as attempting to shape public perception of the past.Template:Sfn There are several cases in which the International Court of Justice has been called upon to adjudicate genocide, including the Bosnian genocide case, Rohingya genocide case, and Gaza genocide case.[2]
Genocide studies
Script error: No such module "Labelled list hatnote". The field of genocide studies emerged in the 1970s and 1980s, as social science began to consider the phenomenon of genocide.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Due to the occurrence of the Bosnian genocide, Rwandan genocide, and the Kosovo crisis, genocide studies exploded in the 1990s.Template:Sfn In contrast to earlier researchers who took for granted the idea that liberal and democratic societies were less likely to commit genocide, revisionists associated with the International Network of Genocide Scholars emphasized how Western ideas led to genocide.Template:Sfn The genocides of indigenous peoples as part of European colonialism were initially not recognized as a form of genocide.Template:Sfn Pioneers of research into settler colonialism such as Patrick Wolfe spelled out the genocidal logic of settler projects in places like Americas and Australia, prompting a rethinking of colonialism.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, most genocide research focuses on a limited canon of twentieth-century genocides, while many other cases are understudied or forgotten.Template:Sfn Many genocide scholars are concerned both with objective study of the topic, and obtaining insights that will help prevent future genocides.Template:Sfn
Definitions
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The definition of genocide generates controversy whenever a new case arises and debate erupts as to whether or not it qualifies as a genocide. Sociologist Martin Shaw writes, "Few ideas are as important in public debate, but in few cases are the meaning and scope of a key idea less clearly agreed."Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Perceptions of genocide vary between seeing it as "an extremely rare and difficult to prove crime", to one that can be found, couched in euphemistic language, in any history book.Template:SfnTemplate:Pn
Some scholars and activists use the Genocide Convention definition.Template:Sfn Others prefer narrower definitions that indicate genocide is rare in human history, reducing genocide to mass killingTemplate:Sfn or distinguishing it from other types of violence by the innocence,Template:Sfn helplessness, or defencelessness of its victims.Template:Sfn Most genocides occur during wartime,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and distinguishing genocide or genocidal war from non-genocidal warfare can be difficult.Template:Sfn Likewise, genocide is distinguished from violent and coercive forms of rule that aim to change behavior rather than destroy groups.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Some definitions include political or social groups as potential victims of genocide.Template:Sfn Many of the more sociologically oriented definitions of genocide overlap that of the crime against humanity of extermination, which refers to large-scale killing or induced death as part of a systematic attack on a civilian population.Template:Sfn Isolated or short-lived phenomena that resemble genocide can be termed genocidal violence.Template:Sfn
Cultural genocide or ethnocide—actions targeted at the reproduction of a group's language, culture, or way of lifeTemplate:Sfn—was part of Raphael Lemkin's original concept, and its proponents in the 1940s argued that it, along with physical genocide, were two mechanisms aiming at the same goal: destruction of the targeted group. Because cultural genocide clearly applied to some colonial and assimilationist policies, several states with overseas colonies threatened to refuse to ratify the convention unless it was excluded.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Most genocide scholars believe that both cultural genocide and structural violence should be included in the definition of genocide, if committed with intent to destroy the targeted group.Template:Sfn Although included in Lemkin's original concept and by some scholars, political groups were also excluded from the Genocide Convention. The result of this exclusion was that perpetrators of genocide could redefine their targets as being a political or military enemy, thus excluding them from consideration.Template:Sfn
Criticism of the concept of genocide and alternatives
Most civilian killings in the twentieth century were not from genocide, which only applies to select cases.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Alternative terms have been coined to describe processes left outside narrower definitions of genocide. Ethnic cleansing—the forced expulsion of a population from a given territory—has achieved widespread currency, although many scholars recognize that it frequently overlaps with genocide, even where Lemkin's definition is not used.Template:Sfn Other terms ending in -cide have proliferated for the destruction of particular types of groupings: democide (people by a government), eliticide (the elite of a targeted group), ethnocide (ethnic groups), gendercide (gendered groupings), politicide (political groups), classicide (social classes), and urbicide (the destruction of a particular locality).Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
The word genocide inherently carries a value judgementTemplate:Sfn as it is widely considered to be the epitome of human evil.Template:Sfn In the past, violence that could be labeled genocide was sometimes celebratedTemplate:Sfn—although it always had its critics.Template:Sfn The idea that genocide sits on top of a hierarchy of atrocity crimes—that it is worse than crimes against humanity or war crimes—is controversial among scholarsTemplate:Sfn and it suggests that the protection of groups is more important than of individuals.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Historian A. Dirk Moses argues that the prioritization of genocide causes other atrocities to not be considered in study and response.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Causes
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We have been reproached for making no distinction between the innocent Armenians and the guilty: but that was utterly impossible in view of the fact that those who are innocent today might be guilty tomorrow. The concern for the safety of Turkey simply had to silence all other concerns.
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The colloquial understanding of genocide is heavily influenced by the Holocaust as its archetype and is conceived as innocent victims targeted because of irrational hatred rather than for any political reason.Template:Sfn Genocide is not an end of itself, but a means to another end—often chosen by perpetrators after other options failed.Template:Sfn Most are ultimately caused by its perpetrators perceiving an existential threat to their own existence, although this belief is usually exaggerated and can be entirely imagined.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Particular threats to existing elites that have been correlated to genocide include both successful and attempted regime change via assassination, coups, revolutions, and civil wars.Template:Sfn
Most genocides were not planned long in advance, but emerged through a process of gradual radicalization, often escalating to genocide following resistance by those targeted.Template:Sfn Genocide perpetrators often fear—usually irrationally—that if they do not commit atrocities, they will suffer a similar fate as they inflict on their victims.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Despite perpetrators' utilitarian goals,Template:Sfn ideological factors are necessary to explain why genocide seems to be a desirable solution to the identified security problem.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Noncombatants are harmed because of the collective guilt ascribed to an entire people—defined according to race but targeted because of its supposed security threat.Template:Sfn Other motives for genocide have included theft, land grabbing, and revenge.Template:Sfn
War is often described as the single most important enabler of genocideTemplate:Sfn providing the weaponry, ideological justification, polarization between allies and enemies, and cover for carrying out extreme violence.Template:Sfn A large proportion of genocides occurred under the course of imperial expansion and power consolidation.Template:Sfn Although genocide is typically organized around pre-existing identity boundaries, it has the outcome of strengthening them.Template:Sfn Although many scholars have emphasized the role of ideology in genocide, there is little agreement in how ideology contributes to violent outcomes;Template:Sfn others have cited rational explanations for atrocities.Template:Sfn
Perpetrators
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Genocides are usually driven by statesTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn and their agents, such as elites, political parties, bureaucracies, armed forces, and paramilitaries.Template:Sfn Civilians are often the leading agents when the genocide takes places in remote frontier areas.Template:Sfn A common strategy is for state-sponsored atrocities to be carried out in secrecy by paramilitary groups, offering the benefit of plausible deniability while widening complicity in the atrocities.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn The leaders who organize genocide usually believe that their actions were justified and regret nothing.Template:Sfn
How ordinary people can become involved in extraordinary violence under circumstances of acute conflict is poorly understood.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The foot soldiers of genocide (as opposed to its organizers) are not demographically or psychologically aberrant.[5] People who commit crimes during genocide are rarely true believers in the ideology behind genocide, although they are affected by it to some extentTemplate:Sfn alongside other factors such as obedience, diffusion of responsibility, and conformity.Template:Sfn Other evidence suggests that ideological propaganda is not effective in inducing people to commit genocideTemplate:Sfn and that for some perpetrators, the dehumanization of victims, and adoption of nationalist or other ideologies that justify the violence occurs after they begin to perpetrate atrocitiesTemplate:Sfn often coinciding with escalation.Template:Sfn Although genocide perpetrators have often been assumed to be male, the role of women in perpetrating genocide—although they were historically excluded from leadership—has also been explored.Template:Sfn People's behavior changes under the course of events, and someone might choose to kill one genocide victim while saving another.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Anthropologist Richard Rechtman writes that in circumstances where atrocities such as genocides are perpetrated, many people refuse to become perpetrators.Template:Sfn
Methods
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Men, particularly young adults, are disproportionately targeted for killing before other victims in order to stem resistance.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Although diverse forms of sexual violence—ranging from rape, forced pregnancy, forced marriage, sexual slavery, mutilation, forced sterilization—can affect either males or females, women are more likely to face it.Template:Sfn The combination of killing of men and sexual violence against women is often intended to disrupt reproduction of the targeted group.Template:Sfn Those scholars who write about the relationship between colonialism and genocide have explored a wide range of means of group destruction and devastation in colonial settings, such as indigenous land theft, forced labor, environmental destruction, apartheid and other forms of systemic discrimination.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Indirect forms of killing include starvation and deprivation of other basic needs such as water, clothing, shelter, and medical care.Template:Sfn Starvation has been the main method of destruction in many genocides.Template:Sfn
Although the popular view of genocide is that it involves mass killing, according to many definitions it may occur without a single person being killed.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Forced displacement is a common feature of many genocides, with the victims often transported to another location where their destruction is easier for the perpetrators. In some cases, victims are transported to sites where they are killed or deprived of the necessities of life.Template:Sfn People are often killed by the displacement itself, as was the case for many Armenian genocide victims,Template:Sfn and their homes are razed or stolen.Template:Sfn Although definitions vary, cultural genocide usually refers to tactics that target a group by means other than attacking its physical, biological existence.Template:Sfn It encompasses attacks against the victims' language, religion, cultural heritage, political and intellectual leaders, and traditional lifestyle,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn and is commonly encountered even in cases where it is not the primary means of group destruction.Template:Sfn Along with the abduction of children from the victimized group, such as residential schools, cultural genocide is particularly common during settler-colonial consolidation.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Perpetrators often deny indigenous' groups existence and identity.Template:Sfn
Reactions
According to rational choice theory, it should be possible to intervene to prevent genocide by raising the costs of engaging in such violence relative to alternatives.Template:Sfn Although there are a number of organizations that compile lists of states where genocide is considered likely to occur,Template:Sfn the accuracy of these predictions are not known and there is no scholarly consensus over evidence-based genocide prevention strategies.Template:Sfn Intervention to prevent genocide has often been considered a failureTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn because most countries prioritize business, trade, and diplomatic relationships:Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn as a consequence, "the usual powerful actors continue to use violence against vulnerable populations with impunity".Template:Sfn
Responsibility to protect is a doctrine that emerged around 2000, in the aftermath of several genocides around the world, that seeks to balance state sovereignty with the need for international intervention to prevent genocide.Template:Sfn However, disagreements in the United Nations Security Council and lack of political will have hampered the implementation of this doctrine.Template:Sfn Although military intervention to halt genocide has been credited with reducing violence in some cases, it remains deeply controversialTemplate:Sfn and is usually illegal.Template:Sfn Researcher Gregory H. Stanton found that calling crimes genocide rather than something else, such as ethnic cleansing, increased the chance of effective intervention.Template:Sfn
Protracted armed resistance by the intended victims is characteristic of many settler genocides, often enabling the perpetrators to justify the genocide as self-defense of its own population.Template:Sfn Almost all genocides are brought to an end either by the military defeat of the perpetrators or the accomplishment of their aims.Template:Sfn
History
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Lemkin applied the concept of genocide to a wide variety of events throughout human history. He and other scholars date the first genocides to prehistoric times.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Prior to the advent of civilizations consisting of sedentary farmers, humans lived in tribal societies, with intertribal warfare often ending with the obliteration of the defeated tribe, killing of adult males and integration of women and children into the victorious tribe.Template:Sfn Ancient sources like the Hebrew Bible contain events that have been cited as describing genocide.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The massacre of men and the enslavement or forced assimilation of women and children—often limited to a particular town or city rather than applied to a larger group—is a common feature of ancient warfare as described in written sources.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The events that some scholars consider genocide in ancient and medieval times had more pragmatic than ideological motivations.Template:Sfn As a result, some scholars such as Mark Levene argue that genocide is inherently connected to the modern state—thus to the rise of the West in the early modern era and its expansion outside Europe—and earlier conflicts cannot be described as genocide.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Although all empires rely on violence, often extreme violence, to establish their own existence,Template:Sfn they may also seek to preserve and rule the conquered rather than eradicate them.Template:Sfn Alternatives to genocide might include policies of integration (via enslavement or otherwise), or of exile. Although the desire to exploit populations could disincentivize extermination,Template:Sfn imperial rule could lead to genocide if resistance emerged.Template:Sfn Ancient and medieval genocides were often committed by empires.Template:Sfn Unlike traditional empires, settler colonialism—particularly the settlement of Europeans outside of Europe—is characterized by militarized populations of settlers in remote areas beyond effective state control. Rather than labor or economic surplus, settlers want to acquire land from indigenous peopleTemplate:Sfn making genocide more likely than with classical colonialism.Template:Sfn While the lack of law enforcement on the frontier ensured impunity for settler violence, the advance of state authority enabled settlers to consolidate their gains using the legal system.Template:Sfn
Genocide was committed on a large scale during both world wars. The prototypical genocide, the Holocaust, involved such large-scale logistics that it reinforced the impression that genocide was the result of civilization drifting off course and required both the "weapons and infrastructure of the modern state and the radical ambitions of the modern man".Template:Sfn Scientific racism and nationalism were common ideological drivers of many twentieth century genocides.Template:Sfn After the horrors of World War II, the United Nations attempted to proscribe genocide via the Genocide Convention.Template:Sfn Despite the promise of "never again" and the international effort to outlaw genocide, the practice has continued to occur repeatedly.Template:Sfn The Cold War included the perpetration of mass killings by both communist and anti-communist states, although these atrocities usually targeted political and social groups, therefore not meeting the legal definition of genocide.Template:Sfn The 1990s saw a surge of ethnic violence in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda that led to a resurgence in interest in genocide.Template:Sfn In the twenty-first century, new communications technologies have also transformed genocide, with both perpetrators and victims able to communicate instantly across borders and raise transnational support.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Effects and aftermath
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In the aftermath of genocide, many survivors attempt to prosecute perpetrators through the legal system and obtain recognition and reparations.Template:Sfn Except where the perpetrators were militarily defeated, for example following the Holocaust and the Rwandan genocide, the victims are usually unsuccessful.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Most of the states that have perpetrated genocide and their patriotic citizens deny or ignore it,Template:Sfn reject responsibility for the harms suffered by victims,Template:Sfn and want to draw a line under the past.Template:Sfn Even an acknowledgement of victims' suffering remains elusive, despite the fact that such acknowledgement has been shown to improve relations both between perpetrator and victim groups as well as with third parties.Template:Sfn
The effects of genocide on societies are under-researched.Template:Sfn Much of the qualitative research on genocide has focused on the testimonies of victims, survivors, and other eyewitnesses.Template:Sfn Studies of genocide survivors have examined rates of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, suicide, post-traumatic stress disorder, and post-traumatic growth. While some have found negative results, others find no association with genocide survival.Template:Sfn There are no consistent findings that children of genocide survivors have worse health than comparable individuals.Template:Sfn Most societies are able to recover demographically from genocide, but this is dependent on their position early in the demographic transitionTemplate:What?.Template:Sfn In the aftermath of genocide, many survivors experience forced displacement from their homes and may face additional challenges due to being labeled as immigration offenders. Success at rebuilding lives in another country is high despite the survivors' limited resources upon arrival.Template:Sfn
Because genocide is often perceived as the "crime of crimes", it grabs attention more effectively than other violations of international law.Template:Sfn Consequently, victims of atrocities often label their suffering genocide as an attempt to gain attention to their plight and attract foreign intervention.Template:Sfn Although remembering genocide is often perceived as a way to develop tolerance and respect for human rights,Template:Sfn the charge of genocide often leads to increased cohesion among the targeted people—in some cases, it has been incorporated into national identity—and stokes enmity towards the group blamed for the crime, reducing the chance of reconciliation and increasing the risk of future occurrence of genocide.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Some genocides are commemorated in memorials or museums.Template:Sfn
Notes
References
Bibliography
Books
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Collections
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Journals
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Other sources
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