The Specter of Genocide: Mass Murder in Historical Perspective

by Edited by Robert Gellately , Ben Kiernan

• ISBN13: 9780521527507
• ISBN10: 0521527503
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-07
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Genocide, mass murder and human rights abuses are arguably the most perplexing and deeply troubling aspects of recent world history. This collection of essays by leading international experts offers an up-to-date, comprehensive history and analyses of multiple cases of genocide and genocidal acts, with a focus on the twentieth century. The book contains studies of the Armenian genocide, the victims of Stalinist terror, the Holocaust, and Imperial Japan. Several authors explore colonialism and address the fate of the indigenous peoples in Africa, North America, and Australia. As well, there is extensive coverage of the post-1945 period, including the atrocities in the former Yugoslavia, Bali, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Rwanda, East Timor, and Guatemala. The book emphasizes the importance of comparative analysis and theoretical discussion, and it raises new questions about the difficult challenges for modernity constituted by genocide and other mass crimes.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan

Part I. Genocide and Modernity: 2. Twentieth century genocides: underlying ideological themes from Armenia to East Timor Ben Kiernan

3. The modernity of genocides: war, race, and revolution in the twentieth century Eric D. Weitz

4. Seeking the roots of modern genocide: on the macro- and micro-history of mass murder Omer Bartov

5. Genocide and the body politic in the time of modernity Marie Fleming

Part II: Indigenous Peoples and Colonial Issues: 6. Indigenous peoples genocide: rhetoric of human rights Elazar Barkan

7. Military culture and the production of 'final solutions' in the colonies: the example of Wilhelminian Germany Isabel V. Hull

8. East Timor: counter-insurgency and genocide John G. Taylor

Part III. The Era of the Two World Wars: 9. Under cover of war: the Armenian genocide in the context of total war Jay Winter

10. The mechanism of a mass crime: the 'great terror' in the Soviet Union, 1937-1938 Nicolas Werth

11. The third reich, the Holocaust and visions of serial genocide Robert Gellately

12. Reflections on modern Japanese history in the context of the concept of 'genocide' Gavan McCormack

Part 4. Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1945: 13. 'When the world turned to chaos': 1965 and its aftermath in Bali, Indonesia Leslie Dwyer and Degung Santikarma

14. Genocide in Cambodia and Ethiopia Edward Kissi

15. Modern genocide in Rwanda: ideology, revolution, war, and mass murder in an African state Robert Melson

16. History, motive, law, intent: combining historical and legal methods in understanding Guatemala's 1981-1983 genocide Greg Grandin

17. Analysis of a mass crime: ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia, 1991-1999 Jacques Semelin

Conclusions: 18. The specter of genocide Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan.