Genocide: The Power and Problems of a Concept

The study of genocide has expanded since the 1980s, but this has led to tensions between a rigid legal concept and the realities researchers have discovered. This book explores the pressures that great powers have exerted on the concept, the reaction of Raphaël Lemkin to the United Nations final resolution, the role of transformative social projects, and the relation of genocide to mass violence targeting specific groups. It offers innovative solutions to address the limitations of the genocide concept while preserving its usefulness as an analytical framework.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 23 April 2023
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press

The study of genocide has experienced a remarkable expansion since the 1980s, both historically and geographically, encompassing earlier epochs, other continents, and new cases. The concept of genocide has proven its significance, yet this expansion has also created tensions between a rigid legal definition and the diverse realities researchers have uncovered. The legal and political benefits associated with genocide status have simplified complex discussions of historical events into a binary question: is it genocide or not? This simplistic approach is often influenced by powerful political pressures.

Genocide addresses these tensions and challenges the boundaries of the concept by examining cases ranging from the role of sexual violence during the Holocaust to state-induced mass starvation in Kazakh and Ukrainian history. It also considers the Armenian, Rwandan, and Burundi experiences, shedding light on the uses and limitations of reading history and conducting politics through the lens of genocide. Contributors explore the pressures exerted by great powers on the concept's development, the reaction of Raphaël Lemkin, the inventor of the term "genocide," to the United Nations final resolution on the subject. They also examine Frances' long-standing decision not to use the concept of genocide in its courtrooms, the role of transformative social projects and the use of genocide memory in politics, and the relationship between genocide and mass violence targeting specific groups.

Throughout this comprehensive text, innovative solutions are offered to address the limitations of the genocide concept while preserving its usefulness as an analytical framework. By delving into these complex issues, Genocide provides valuable insights into the study of genocide and its implications for understanding and addressing mass violence and human rights abuses.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780228011712