Miller's Theory Of The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian genocide is widely recognized as the first systematic genocide of the twentieth century; however, it continues to be denied around the world, particularly in Turkey and the United States. In Miller and Miller’s “Survivors: An Oral History of the Armenian Genocide”, the causes of the Armenian genocide are identified as the political leadership in Turkey, the ideology of Pan-Turkism, the distinct culture of Armenians, and the political instability within Turkey. Miller and Miller’s explanation is consistent with Goldhagen’s theory because it identifies the root causes of genocide as a dynamic process set in to motion by political leaders. Thus, political leaders play the most important role in the occurrence of genocide. With that said, the Millers are unable to explain why the victims are dehumanized and they focus too much attention on nationalism. In
Using crude methods of murders such as beheadings, and cutting off faces cannot be explained by nationalistic ideologies. Instead, the social construction of a group encourages the dehumanization of the group. Dehumanization occurs because Armenians are characterized by the “religiously infused demonology” (Goldhagen 2009: 302) that lead to the belief that non-Turkic and non-Islamic Armenians are a dangerous, alien group “with polluting religion and practices” (Goldhagen, 2009: 209). Ideologies about producing a homogenous state cannot explain why victims are dehumanized; instead, the construction of a group reflects the perception of leaders control over propaganda and school education. Individual agency is also responsible for the dehumanization of victims because perpetrators can choose to treat Armenians humanely, as some perpetrators did. Moreover, Goldhagen’s theory of eliminationism reemphasizes the fact that the policies are created by leaders and they are