Examples Of Genocide: Motivation, Deception, Prevention
Genocide: Motivation, Deception, Prevention
The terms “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” were formulated only in the last seventy-five years. Raphael Lempkin conceived the word “genocide” (geno meaning “tribe” and cide meaning “murder”) in 1944 to describe the Nazi Holocaust, while “ethnic cleansing” originated in reference to the Yugoslavian conflicts of the 1990s. (Lempkin 11) The United Nations formally defines genocide – recognized as an international crime against humanity – as attempting to destroy “a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.” (“Analysis” 1) The formal defining and recognition of “genocide” is the result of a tremendous amount of public attention and scholarly analysis. This attention has, in turn, led to a far more …show more content…
Chirot and McCauley noted that this type of fear is often difficult for an outsider to comprehend, but originates with a power group identifying a segment of the population as the “other” whether it be “ethnic, religious, or ideological.” Fear of pollution usually does not involve any concern that the offending group will commit acts of violence, focusing instead on the idea that the other’s continued existence will somehow infect -- and thus endanger the continued existence of – the dominant group (2). False fears of pollution are present in many of the most recognized instances of genocide: “Hitler believed this about Jews, the Khmer Rouge about Vietnamese and [some] Cambodians [and] the Hutu . . . about Tutsis” (Chirot and McCauley, “Why Not” 3). They fear that the other group will pollute the dominant, so they seek to destroy the apparent enemy. The fact that the fear or “threat may be imagined,” based on false information, or founded in stereotypes makes it no less real in the minds of the group in power. The dominant group “Believe[s] that unless the other group is eliminated, they may face extermination themselves” (Chirot and McCauley, “Motives” 2). Aside from irrational fear, a second element that is often present as a motivator for genocide is inter-group
The terms “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing” were formulated only in the last seventy-five years. Raphael Lempkin conceived the word “genocide” (geno meaning “tribe” and cide meaning “murder”) in 1944 to describe the Nazi Holocaust, while “ethnic cleansing” originated in reference to the Yugoslavian conflicts of the 1990s. (Lempkin 11) The United Nations formally defines genocide – recognized as an international crime against humanity – as attempting to destroy “a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.” (“Analysis” 1) The formal defining and recognition of “genocide” is the result of a tremendous amount of public attention and scholarly analysis. This attention has, in turn, led to a far more …show more content…
Chirot and McCauley noted that this type of fear is often difficult for an outsider to comprehend, but originates with a power group identifying a segment of the population as the “other” whether it be “ethnic, religious, or ideological.” Fear of pollution usually does not involve any concern that the offending group will commit acts of violence, focusing instead on the idea that the other’s continued existence will somehow infect -- and thus endanger the continued existence of – the dominant group (2). False fears of pollution are present in many of the most recognized instances of genocide: “Hitler believed this about Jews, the Khmer Rouge about Vietnamese and [some] Cambodians [and] the Hutu . . . about Tutsis” (Chirot and McCauley, “Why Not” 3). They fear that the other group will pollute the dominant, so they seek to destroy the apparent enemy. The fact that the fear or “threat may be imagined,” based on false information, or founded in stereotypes makes it no less real in the minds of the group in power. The dominant group “Believe[s] that unless the other group is eliminated, they may face extermination themselves” (Chirot and McCauley, “Motives” 2). Aside from irrational fear, a second element that is often present as a motivator for genocide is inter-group