Genocide Flashcards
Legal definition
- Killing members of a group
- Causing deliberate bodily or mental harm to members of a group
- Inflicting conditions calculated to bring about destruction
- Measures to prevent births
- Forcible transfer
Types of genocide
- Cultural/Ideological
- Latent
- Retributive
- Utilitarian
- Optimal
- Despotic
Determinants
• Demography
o Often in plural societies
o Societies with few points of intersection
o If definition extended to political groups – could be homogeneous society
• Economic Indicators
o Destroying those who stand in the way of resources
o Economic depression: consider the German holocaust – Hitler’s popularity due to his economic success
Motives
• Convenience
o Ending a protracted conflict abruptly
o Dominant group wipes out the other
• Revenge
o Radical zealotry
• Simple Fear
o Threat from another group, real or perceived
o Exterminate first before exterminated
o Rwanda: Hutu genocide launched in face of threats from Tutsi insurgency
• Fanatic element:
o The “other” will infect the “pure group”
Stages of genocide
- Classification
a. Distinguishing people into ‘us’ & ‘them’
b. Main preventative measure: finding bases of commonality - Symbolization
a. Names or symbols to the classifications
b. Main preventative measure: hate symbols banned - Dehumanization
a. Denying the humanity of a group
b. Main preventative measure: condemn use of hate speech - Organization
a. Training phases, arming phases
b. Main preventative measure: arms embargoes - Polarization
a. Polarizing propaganda
b. Main preventative measure: sanctions - Preparation
a. Victims actively separated out
b. Main preventative measure: declare emergency - Extermination
a. Includes revenge killings
b. Main preventative measure: rapid intervention - Denial
a. Deny a crime was committed
b. Main preventative measure: tribunals
Case study: Syria
- Rule by minority, prior unpunished acts
- Systematic HR violations
- Denial- foreign inspired terrorist gangs
