War on Hate: How to Stop Genocide, Fight Terrorism, and Defend Freedom

The UN outlawed genocide in 1948 and the US launched a war on terror in 2001, but neither genocide nor terrorism shows any sign of abating. This book explains why those efforts have fallen short and identifies policies that can prevent such carnage, such as getting the causation analysis right and supporting indigenous agents of liberalization.

Format: Hardback
Length: 474 pages
Publication date: 12 July 2021
Publisher: Lexington Books

The United Nations declared genocide illegal in 1948, and the United States initiated a war on terror in 2001; yet, neither genocide nor terrorism appears to be diminishing today. This book explores why these efforts have failed and identifies policies that can prevent such carnage. The key lies in accurately identifying the causes of mass violence. Conventional wisdom attributes mass violence to ancient hatreds, poverty, and the impact of Western colonialism. However, the inciting power of mass, ideological hate propaganda is far more significant. This propaganda activates the drive to commit mass atrocities and creates the multitude of perpetrators required for a genocide or a terror campaign. A secondary causal factor is an illiberal, dualistic political culture that breeds extremist, "us-vs-them" ideologies that always lead to episodes of mass hate incitement.

A two-tiered policy response follows from this analysis. In the short term, targeted interventions should be implemented to curtail outbreaks of such incitement. In the long term, support should be provided to indigenous agents of liberalization in regions most vulnerable to ideologically-driven violence.

Weight: 925g
Dimension: 228 x 160 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793627605