Synopses & Reviews
For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new bookthe first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient timesis among his most important achievements.
Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalins mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides.
Review
“. . . the first synthetic, single-authored global history to connect state power and formation to violence through the willful extermination and attempted extermination of peoples. Its reach is not only global, it is also temporal, as the book examines violence through time.”--Audra Simpson,
Journal of Asian Studies
-- Sarah Abrevaya Stein - Association of Jewish Studies Review
Review
and#8220;This collection serves as a concise, accurate guide to the Holocaust and major genocides of the 20th century. Identifying the Holocaust as central to genocide studies, the authors document up-to-date knowledge on other genocides with the aim of encouraging broader education about the subject. Chapters accurately introduce the Holocaust and the Armenian, Cambodian, and Rwandan genocides, as well as genocide in Yugoslavia . . . [and] provide useful maps, glossaries, images, and time lines. . . . Recommended.and#8221;
Synopsis
A book of surpassing importance that should be required reading for leaders and policymakers throughout the world
For thirty years Ben Kiernan has been deeply involved in the study of genocide and crimes against humanity. He has played a key role in unearthing confidential documentation of the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. His writings have transformed our understanding not only of twentieth-century Cambodia but also of the historical phenomenon of genocide. This new book--the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times--is among his most important achievements.
Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin's mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come: racism or religious prejudice, territorial expansionism, and cults of antiquity and agrarianism. The ideologies that have motivated perpetrators of mass killings in the past persist in our new century, says Kiernan. He urges that we heed the rich historical evidence with its telltale signs for predicting and preventing future genocides.
Synopsis
After the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust, the United Nations signed the Genocide Convention in 1948. Although this convention aimed for the prevention of genocide in the future, large-scale mass murder nonetheless returned in Rwanda and Cambodia, among other nations. Genocide is incredibly difficult to fight, as its causes are complex and deeply rooted, but international courts and tribunals have begun to play an increasing role in bringing perpetrators to justice. This book offers concise information about five twentieth-century cases of genocide, while analyzing overarching issues in international justice. and#160;
About the Author
Ben Kiernan is the A. Whitney Griswold Professor of History, professor of international and area studies, and the founding director of the Genocide Studies Program at Yale University (www.yale.edu/gsp). His previous books include How Pol Pot Came to Power: Colonialism, Nationalism, and Communism in Cambodia, 19301975 and The Pol Pot Regime: Race, Power, and Genocide in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, 1975-1979, published by Yale University Press.
Table of Contents
Introduction
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Wichert ten Have and Barbara Boender
The Holocaust, 1933and#8211;1941and#8211;945
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Wichert ten Have and Maria van Haperen
The Armenian Genocide, 1915
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Uand#287;ur and#220;mit and#220;ngand#246;r
The Cambodian Genocide, 1975and#8211;1979
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Ben Kiernan
The Rwandan Genocide, 1994
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Maria van Haperen
Crisis and Genocide in Yugoslavia, 1985and#8211;1995
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Ton Zwaan
The Crime of Genocide and International Law
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Martin Mennecke
References
About the Authors