Jennifer M. Welsh
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199267217
- eISBN:
- 9780191601118
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199267219.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Outlines and evaluates the political, legal, and ethical objections to humanitarian intervention. In so doing, it questions not only whether the doctrine of ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ has taken ...
More
Outlines and evaluates the political, legal, and ethical objections to humanitarian intervention. In so doing, it questions not only whether the doctrine of ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ has taken hold in international society, but also whether it should – particularly in the form suggested by Western states. The author argues that the ethical position of pluralism – as articulated by non-Western states – represents the most compelling case against humanitarian intervention, by emphasizing the impact on international society of relaxing the norm of non-intervention. Despite these pluralist objections, military intervention in cases of supreme humanitarian emergency can be defended on moral grounds, provided the intervention meets certain tests of legitimacy. Given the unintended consequences of military action, the author also suggests that more attention should be paid to the non-military means of operationalizing ‘sovereignty as responsibility’.Less
Outlines and evaluates the political, legal, and ethical objections to humanitarian intervention. In so doing, it questions not only whether the doctrine of ‘sovereignty as responsibility’ has taken hold in international society, but also whether it should – particularly in the form suggested by Western states. The author argues that the ethical position of pluralism – as articulated by non-Western states – represents the most compelling case against humanitarian intervention, by emphasizing the impact on international society of relaxing the norm of non-intervention. Despite these pluralist objections, military intervention in cases of supreme humanitarian emergency can be defended on moral grounds, provided the intervention meets certain tests of legitimacy. Given the unintended consequences of military action, the author also suggests that more attention should be paid to the non-military means of operationalizing ‘sovereignty as responsibility’.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted ...
More
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.Less
Introducing new evidence from more than 600 secret Ottoman documents, this book demonstrates in detail that the Armenian Genocide and the expulsion of Greeks from the late Ottoman Empire resulted from an official effort to rid the empire of its Christian subjects. This book goes deep inside the bureaucratic machinery of Ottoman Turkey to show how a dying empire embraced genocide and ethnic cleansing. Although the deportation and killing of Armenians was internationally condemned in 1915 as a “crime against humanity and civilization,” the Ottoman government initiated a policy of denial that is still maintained by the Turkish Republic. The case for Turkey's “official history” rests on documents from the Ottoman imperial archives, to which access has been heavily restricted until recently. It is this very source that the book now uses to overturn the official narrative. The documents presented here attest to a late-Ottoman policy of Turkification, the goal of which was no less than the radical demographic transformation of Anatolia. To that end, about one-third of Anatolia's 15 million people were displaced, deported, expelled, or massacred, destroying the ethno-religious diversity of an ancient cultural crossroads of East and West, and paving the way for the Turkish Republic. By uncovering the central roles played by demographic engineering and assimilation in the Armenian Genocide, this book will fundamentally change how this crime is understood and show that physical destruction is not the only aspect of the genocidal process.
Tsolin Nalbantian
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474458566
- eISBN:
- 9781474480703
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474458566.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent ...
More
A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent nation-state after World War I – developed dynamic socio-political, cultural, ideological and ecclesiastical centres. And it focuses on one such centre, Beirut, in the postcolonial 1940s and 1950s.
Tsolin Nalbantian explores Armenians’ discursive re-positioning within the newly independent Lebanese nation-state; the political-cultural impact (in Lebanon as well as Syria) of the 1946–8 repatriation initiative to Soviet Armenia; the 1956 Catholicos election; and the 1957 Lebanese elections and 1958 mini-civil war. What emerges is a post-Genocide Armenian history of – principally – power, renewal and presence, rather than one of loss and absence.
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon Their Own investigates Lebanese Armenians’ changing views of their place in the making of the Lebanese state and its wider Arab environment, and in relation to the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic. It challenges the dominant Armenian historiography, which treats Lebanese Armenians as a subsidiary of an Armenian global diaspora, and contributes to an understanding of the development of class and sectarian cleavages that led to the breakdown of civil society in Lebanon from 1975. In highlighting the role of societal actors in the US–Soviet Cold War in the Middle East, it also questions the tendency to read Middle East history through the lens of dominant (Arab) nationalisms.Less
A socio-political and cultural history of the Armenians in Cold War Lebanon, this book argues that Armenians around the world – in the face of the Genocide, and despite the absence of an independent nation-state after World War I – developed dynamic socio-political, cultural, ideological and ecclesiastical centres. And it focuses on one such centre, Beirut, in the postcolonial 1940s and 1950s.
Tsolin Nalbantian explores Armenians’ discursive re-positioning within the newly independent Lebanese nation-state; the political-cultural impact (in Lebanon as well as Syria) of the 1946–8 repatriation initiative to Soviet Armenia; the 1956 Catholicos election; and the 1957 Lebanese elections and 1958 mini-civil war. What emerges is a post-Genocide Armenian history of – principally – power, renewal and presence, rather than one of loss and absence.
Armenians Beyond Diaspora: Making Lebanon Their Own investigates Lebanese Armenians’ changing views of their place in the making of the Lebanese state and its wider Arab environment, and in relation to the Armenian Socialist Soviet Republic. It challenges the dominant Armenian historiography, which treats Lebanese Armenians as a subsidiary of an Armenian global diaspora, and contributes to an understanding of the development of class and sectarian cleavages that led to the breakdown of civil society in Lebanon from 1975. In highlighting the role of societal actors in the US–Soviet Cold War in the Middle East, it also questions the tendency to read Middle East history through the lens of dominant (Arab) nationalisms.
Admir Jugo and Sari Wastell
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097560
- eISBN:
- 9781526104441
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097560.003.0007
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Global
This paper will examine the excavation of mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has evolved into a significantly standardized yet methodologically flexible set of procedures based on ...
More
This paper will examine the excavation of mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has evolved into a significantly standardized yet methodologically flexible set of procedures based on integrated principles of forensic archaeology, forensic anthropology and crime scene processing – the overall goal of which is to maximize the collection and documentation of all sets of human remains, forensic artifacts and features for the purposes of establishing an objective historical record, supporting the criminal justice process and the victim identification process. In particular, the phenomenon of the secondary mass grave will be explored. Why might a secondary mass grave play a distinct role from a primary mass grave, and in what ways, and for whom? Through an (admittedly implicit) description of the actor-network in which these graves are embedded, and the many sorts of actants with which they are in relation, the authors will attempt to describe the precarious and shifting place of Bosnia’s secondary mass graves in the country’s processes of social reconciliation and peace-building.Less
This paper will examine the excavation of mass graves in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has evolved into a significantly standardized yet methodologically flexible set of procedures based on integrated principles of forensic archaeology, forensic anthropology and crime scene processing – the overall goal of which is to maximize the collection and documentation of all sets of human remains, forensic artifacts and features for the purposes of establishing an objective historical record, supporting the criminal justice process and the victim identification process. In particular, the phenomenon of the secondary mass grave will be explored. Why might a secondary mass grave play a distinct role from a primary mass grave, and in what ways, and for whom? Through an (admittedly implicit) description of the actor-network in which these graves are embedded, and the many sorts of actants with which they are in relation, the authors will attempt to describe the precarious and shifting place of Bosnia’s secondary mass graves in the country’s processes of social reconciliation and peace-building.
David L. Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This book provides an examination of the crime of genocide in connection with political groups. It offers an empirical study of the current status of political groups under customary international ...
More
This book provides an examination of the crime of genocide in connection with political groups. It offers an empirical study of the current status of political groups under customary international law, as well as a theoretical analysis of whether political genocide should be recognized as a separate crime by the international community. The book analyses whether a stand-alone crime of political genocide should be recognized under international law. It begins by examining the historical development of genocide and critically assessing the unique requirements of the crime. It then demonstrates that other international offences—notably crimes against humanity and war crimes—are not workable substitutes for a specific offence that protects political groups. This is followed by an analytical study of the protection of human groups under international law. The book proposes a new theory that links the protection of groups to individual rights of a certain character that give rise to the group's existence. It then applies this ‘rights-based approach’ in evaluating whether political groups are legitimate candidates for specific protection from physical and biological destruction ‘as such’. The writing includes an analysis of state practice and opinio juris on the treatment of political groups. It empirically refutes claims that political groups are protected already from genocide by virtue of post-Convention developments in customary international law. In response to this legal reality, however, the book analyses the theoretical and public policy justifications for international criminal law and demonstrates that the international community would be well served by creating a separate international crime to address political genocide.Less
This book provides an examination of the crime of genocide in connection with political groups. It offers an empirical study of the current status of political groups under customary international law, as well as a theoretical analysis of whether political genocide should be recognized as a separate crime by the international community. The book analyses whether a stand-alone crime of political genocide should be recognized under international law. It begins by examining the historical development of genocide and critically assessing the unique requirements of the crime. It then demonstrates that other international offences—notably crimes against humanity and war crimes—are not workable substitutes for a specific offence that protects political groups. This is followed by an analytical study of the protection of human groups under international law. The book proposes a new theory that links the protection of groups to individual rights of a certain character that give rise to the group's existence. It then applies this ‘rights-based approach’ in evaluating whether political groups are legitimate candidates for specific protection from physical and biological destruction ‘as such’. The writing includes an analysis of state practice and opinio juris on the treatment of political groups. It empirically refutes claims that political groups are protected already from genocide by virtue of post-Convention developments in customary international law. In response to this legal reality, however, the book analyses the theoretical and public policy justifications for international criminal law and demonstrates that the international community would be well served by creating a separate international crime to address political genocide.
William Lamont
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264577
- eISBN:
- 9780191734267
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264577.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn (1915–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, wrote three major histories around a single theme. The Pursuit of the Millennium (1957) related the apocalyptic beliefs of ...
More
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn (1915–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, wrote three major histories around a single theme. The Pursuit of the Millennium (1957) related the apocalyptic beliefs of twentieth-century totalitarian movements, whether Nazi or Communist, to their origins in medieval heresy. Warrant for Genocide (1967) established that the key document of a Jewish world conspiracy, The Protocol of the Elders of Zion, was a nineteenth-century Tsarist forgery. Europe's Inner Demons (1975) argued that the belief in a Satanic pact was at the heart of witch persecution in early modern Europe. Within a year of retiring as Director of the Columbus Centre, Cohn was invited to Concordia University, Montreal, to help launch an Institute for Genocide Studies. He regarded his three books as tied to the Columbus Centre agenda and as such compatible with Lord Dacre's own search for what it was in Germany's myths and history that Adolf Hitler's mind could have been working upon in his lost years in Vienna.Less
Norman Rufus Colin Cohn (1915–2007), a Fellow of the British Academy, wrote three major histories around a single theme. The Pursuit of the Millennium (1957) related the apocalyptic beliefs of twentieth-century totalitarian movements, whether Nazi or Communist, to their origins in medieval heresy. Warrant for Genocide (1967) established that the key document of a Jewish world conspiracy, The Protocol of the Elders of Zion, was a nineteenth-century Tsarist forgery. Europe's Inner Demons (1975) argued that the belief in a Satanic pact was at the heart of witch persecution in early modern Europe. Within a year of retiring as Director of the Columbus Centre, Cohn was invited to Concordia University, Montreal, to help launch an Institute for Genocide Studies. He regarded his three books as tied to the Columbus Centre agenda and as such compatible with Lord Dacre's own search for what it was in Germany's myths and history that Adolf Hitler's mind could have been working upon in his lost years in Vienna.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0012
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the ...
More
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.Less
This chapter argues that the Armenian Genocide—the first large scale mass murder of the twentieth century—must be placed in a new context and understood within that context: the commencement of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire into nation-states. Far from an isolated campaign against a single ethnoreligious group, the annihilation of the Armenians was part of an extremely comprehensive operation that was accomplished in order to save the empire. For this reason, it is not correct to interpret the Armenian Genocide along the lines of a clash between the empire's Muslim groups, more generally expressed by the concept of “Turk,” and its Christian elements. The Armenian Genocide must be understood and interpreted as a matter between the Ottoman state and its subjects that arose as a result of specific policies pursued by the regime.
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter details the rapid development of genocide from an academic concept to a substantive international crime. It provides a brief overview of the etymology of the term ‘genocide’ following ...
More
This chapter details the rapid development of genocide from an academic concept to a substantive international crime. It provides a brief overview of the etymology of the term ‘genocide’ following its first usage by Professor Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe Nazi atrocities during World War II. It details the early usages of the concept in subsequent criminal trials of Nazi offenders, as well as the definition of genocide in the 1948 Genocide Convention. It also discusses the critical (and controversial) decision of the Convention's drafters to exclude political groups, thereby limiting the Convention to national, ethnic, racial, and religious collectives. Acts intended physically or biologically to destroy these four groups thus are condemned as ‘genocide’, whereas the identical criminal conduct—directed instead at other human collectives—is not.Less
This chapter details the rapid development of genocide from an academic concept to a substantive international crime. It provides a brief overview of the etymology of the term ‘genocide’ following its first usage by Professor Raphael Lemkin in 1944 to describe Nazi atrocities during World War II. It details the early usages of the concept in subsequent criminal trials of Nazi offenders, as well as the definition of genocide in the 1948 Genocide Convention. It also discusses the critical (and controversial) decision of the Convention's drafters to exclude political groups, thereby limiting the Convention to national, ethnic, racial, and religious collectives. Acts intended physically or biologically to destroy these four groups thus are condemned as ‘genocide’, whereas the identical criminal conduct—directed instead at other human collectives—is not.
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter focuses upon the actus reus of genocide, outlining both the conduct elements of the offence and the complexities of identifying the contours of protected groups. It first discusses the ...
More
This chapter focuses upon the actus reus of genocide, outlining both the conduct elements of the offence and the complexities of identifying the contours of protected groups. It first discusses the various modes of perpetration for international crimes generally, including the doctrines of command responsibility and joint criminal enterprise. It then focuses on the actus reus of genocide and details the acts prohibited under Genocide Convention that constitute physical genocide (killing group members, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, and imposing destructive conditions of life upon them) and biological genocide (preventing births within the group and removing the children of group members). It also discusses distinctions and commonalities among the racial, ethnic, national, and religious groups protected under the Genocide Convention. It further details the complexities of determining the applicable criteria for group membership and assesses the benefits and drawbacks of ascertaining membership using subjective versus objective characteristics.Less
This chapter focuses upon the actus reus of genocide, outlining both the conduct elements of the offence and the complexities of identifying the contours of protected groups. It first discusses the various modes of perpetration for international crimes generally, including the doctrines of command responsibility and joint criminal enterprise. It then focuses on the actus reus of genocide and details the acts prohibited under Genocide Convention that constitute physical genocide (killing group members, causing them serious bodily or mental harm, and imposing destructive conditions of life upon them) and biological genocide (preventing births within the group and removing the children of group members). It also discusses distinctions and commonalities among the racial, ethnic, national, and religious groups protected under the Genocide Convention. It further details the complexities of determining the applicable criteria for group membership and assesses the benefits and drawbacks of ascertaining membership using subjective versus objective characteristics.
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0004
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter addresses the personal fault elements comprising the mens rea of genocide. It discusses the crime's unique specific intent requirements and analyses the discriminatory targeting of ...
More
This chapter addresses the personal fault elements comprising the mens rea of genocide. It discusses the crime's unique specific intent requirements and analyses the discriminatory targeting of protected groups for destruction. It addresses the complexities of ascertaining a perpetrator's specific intent to destroy a human group ‘as such’ and discusses how such intent can be established at trial. It also considers the merits of analysing the perpetrator's mental state in terms of numerical considerations (targeting either a percentage of the targeted group or a certain threshold number of victims) versus other types of criteria (such as the effects of targeting group leaders or other important segments of the group on the group's overall ability to survive ‘as such’).Less
This chapter addresses the personal fault elements comprising the mens rea of genocide. It discusses the crime's unique specific intent requirements and analyses the discriminatory targeting of protected groups for destruction. It addresses the complexities of ascertaining a perpetrator's specific intent to destroy a human group ‘as such’ and discusses how such intent can be established at trial. It also considers the merits of analysing the perpetrator's mental state in terms of numerical considerations (targeting either a percentage of the targeted group or a certain threshold number of victims) versus other types of criteria (such as the effects of targeting group leaders or other important segments of the group on the group's overall ability to survive ‘as such’).
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter addresses the question of whether, as some suggest, political genocide is prohibited already by virtue of post-Convention developments in customary international law. It discusses the ...
More
This chapter addresses the question of whether, as some suggest, political genocide is prohibited already by virtue of post-Convention developments in customary international law. It discusses the evidentiary requirements necessary to establish the formation of customary international law. It then provides an empirical examination of state practice and opinio juris on genocide and political genocide. The analysis covers domestic legislation on genocide from some eighty-four states, together with nearly every domestic and international case that has applied the concept, as well as the historical records from all three drafting conferences for the Genocide Convention. It demonstrates conclusively that, although some states criminalize political genocide as a matter of domestic province, there is no basis to conclude that the crime otherwise exists as a free-standing offense under international law.Less
This chapter addresses the question of whether, as some suggest, political genocide is prohibited already by virtue of post-Convention developments in customary international law. It discusses the evidentiary requirements necessary to establish the formation of customary international law. It then provides an empirical examination of state practice and opinio juris on genocide and political genocide. The analysis covers domestic legislation on genocide from some eighty-four states, together with nearly every domestic and international case that has applied the concept, as well as the historical records from all three drafting conferences for the Genocide Convention. It demonstrates conclusively that, although some states criminalize political genocide as a matter of domestic province, there is no basis to conclude that the crime otherwise exists as a free-standing offense under international law.
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter explores the relationship between genocide and other offences under international law, focusing on crimes against humanity (e.g., extermination, torture, and other forms of group ...
More
This chapter explores the relationship between genocide and other offences under international law, focusing on crimes against humanity (e.g., extermination, torture, and other forms of group violence, as well as unlawful persecution on discriminatory grounds). In some circumstances, crimes against humanity cover similar ground to genocide because they outlaw large-scale violence and prohibit serious discrimination based upon membership in certain human groups. The availability of such offences has been offered as a sufficient justification not to include political groups within the concept of genocide. The chapter compares genocide to these other aspects of international criminal law and demonstrates that these other crimes are neither a workable nor a sufficient proxy for a separate international crime prohibiting political genocide.Less
This chapter explores the relationship between genocide and other offences under international law, focusing on crimes against humanity (e.g., extermination, torture, and other forms of group violence, as well as unlawful persecution on discriminatory grounds). In some circumstances, crimes against humanity cover similar ground to genocide because they outlaw large-scale violence and prohibit serious discrimination based upon membership in certain human groups. The availability of such offences has been offered as a sufficient justification not to include political groups within the concept of genocide. The chapter compares genocide to these other aspects of international criminal law and demonstrates that these other crimes are neither a workable nor a sufficient proxy for a separate international crime prohibiting political genocide.
Dr. David Nersessian
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199588909
- eISBN:
- 9780191594557
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199588909.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter proposes an optional protocol to the 1948 Genocide Convention paired and an amendment to the ICC Statute to address political genocide. It considers several potential objections to ...
More
This chapter proposes an optional protocol to the 1948 Genocide Convention paired and an amendment to the ICC Statute to address political genocide. It considers several potential objections to creating the new offense, including its potential impact on legitimate military and law enforcement interests (e.g., terrorism prevention). It also considers whether the inclusion of political groups would interfere with the Convention itself or otherwise dilute the concept of genocide as a unique offense. It demonstrates that none of these considerations justify continued non-recognition of political genocide. The chapter then discusses the divergence between law ‘on the books’ and actual enforcement, using the situation in Darfur as an example of difficulties of exercising political will on the international plane. It concludes that the direct prohibition of political genocide through law is an essential first step to preventing and punishing atrocities aimed at destroying political groups ‘as such’.Less
This chapter proposes an optional protocol to the 1948 Genocide Convention paired and an amendment to the ICC Statute to address political genocide. It considers several potential objections to creating the new offense, including its potential impact on legitimate military and law enforcement interests (e.g., terrorism prevention). It also considers whether the inclusion of political groups would interfere with the Convention itself or otherwise dilute the concept of genocide as a unique offense. It demonstrates that none of these considerations justify continued non-recognition of political genocide. The chapter then discusses the divergence between law ‘on the books’ and actual enforcement, using the situation in Darfur as an example of difficulties of exercising political will on the international plane. It concludes that the direct prohibition of political genocide through law is an essential first step to preventing and punishing atrocities aimed at destroying political groups ‘as such’.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0009
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of ...
More
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.Less
This chapter contends that there are two reasons why the concept of assimilation was detached from the study of genocide. First, Armenian Genocide studies have suffered from the general weaknesses of the emerging field. Occupying the central place in these debates as a sine qua non, the Holocaust became the yardstick against which an event might or might not measure up as a genocide. As with other instances of mass violence, the fear that the events of 1915 would not be considered genocide if they did not resemble the Holocaust precluded serious analysis along the lines of dynamic social processes. Second, the understanding of assimilation as a process of the Armenian Genocide has been hampered by the character of available sources, mainly German and American consular reports, as well as missionary and survivor accounts.
Taner Akçam
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691153339
- eISBN:
- 9781400841844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691153339.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, Middle East History
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics ...
More
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.Less
This chapter explains that there are certain theses in the discussions about the Armenian Genocide which linger in the people's memory. These include the now-classic arguments that Armenian Catholics and Protestants, and the Armenians of Istanbul and Izmir, were not deported. Families of soldiers were not touched, and despite it being wartime, the government opened investigations against state officials who acted badly toward the Armenians during the deportations. Another important argument added in recent years is that the organization known as the Special Organization, which in fact enjoyed an official status through its association with the War Ministry, had no connection whatsoever with the annihilation of the Armenians.
Ryan Gingeras
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199561520
- eISBN:
- 9780191721076
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199561520.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
The birth of the Turkish Republic was an event borne out of immense bloodshed and carnage. During the decade leading up to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the ascendancy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, ...
More
The birth of the Turkish Republic was an event borne out of immense bloodshed and carnage. During the decade leading up to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the ascendancy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, virtually every town and village throughout Anatolia was wracked by intercommunal violence. This book presents a history of these bloody years of political and social transformation. The book challenges the determinism associated with the nationalist interpretation of the events that transpire in contemporary Turkey between 1912 and 1923, and delves deeper into this period of transition between empire and nation-state. In looking closely at a small corner of territory immediately south of the old Ottoman capital of Istanbul, this book traces the evolution of various communities of native Christians and immigrant Muslims against the backdrop of the Balkan Wars, the First World War, the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish War of Independence, and the Greek occupation of the region. By taking up the roles of four discrete groups located along the southern rim of the Sea of Marmara, this book demonstrates the ways in which a series of provincial communities were both the objects and the engines of radical social and political change. The book specifically takes on the origins of the bitter communal and sectarian violence that occurs throughout this period. Rather than essentialize the conflict as a war between monolithic ethnic groups driven by fanaticism and ancient hatreds, this book instead lends greater attention to the culpability of several competing states in fanning successive waves of violence seen in this portion of northwestern Anatolia.Less
The birth of the Turkish Republic was an event borne out of immense bloodshed and carnage. During the decade leading up to the end of the Ottoman Empire and the ascendancy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, virtually every town and village throughout Anatolia was wracked by intercommunal violence. This book presents a history of these bloody years of political and social transformation. The book challenges the determinism associated with the nationalist interpretation of the events that transpire in contemporary Turkey between 1912 and 1923, and delves deeper into this period of transition between empire and nation-state. In looking closely at a small corner of territory immediately south of the old Ottoman capital of Istanbul, this book traces the evolution of various communities of native Christians and immigrant Muslims against the backdrop of the Balkan Wars, the First World War, the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish War of Independence, and the Greek occupation of the region. By taking up the roles of four discrete groups located along the southern rim of the Sea of Marmara, this book demonstrates the ways in which a series of provincial communities were both the objects and the engines of radical social and political change. The book specifically takes on the origins of the bitter communal and sectarian violence that occurs throughout this period. Rather than essentialize the conflict as a war between monolithic ethnic groups driven by fanaticism and ancient hatreds, this book instead lends greater attention to the culpability of several competing states in fanning successive waves of violence seen in this portion of northwestern Anatolia.
Ryan Gingeras
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199561520
- eISBN:
- 9780191721076
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199561520.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in ...
More
This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in influencing the Ottoman government's decision to deport and murder large numbers of its non-Muslim citizens, the chapter underscores the state's concerns over the internal security of the region. It carefully points out the contradictions found within the state's decision for large numbers of these three groups, as well as the many acts of local resistance to this policy. Most accounts of the Armenian Genocide do not pay close attention to the consequences of the return of thousands of Armenians to the South Marmara after 1918, something which is dicussed in the latter part of this chapter.Less
This chapter discusses the origins and execution of the mass deportations of Albanians, Greeks and Armenians during the First World War. Rather than emphasize the role of Turkish nationalism in influencing the Ottoman government's decision to deport and murder large numbers of its non-Muslim citizens, the chapter underscores the state's concerns over the internal security of the region. It carefully points out the contradictions found within the state's decision for large numbers of these three groups, as well as the many acts of local resistance to this policy. Most accounts of the Armenian Genocide do not pay close attention to the consequences of the return of thousands of Armenians to the South Marmara after 1918, something which is dicussed in the latter part of this chapter.
MAURIZIO RAGAZZI
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198298700
- eISBN:
- 9780191707513
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198298700.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Law of Obligations
The origins of the prohibition of genocide under international law date back to the end of World War II and the Nuremberg trial. The idea of the universal opposability of the prohibition of genocide ...
More
The origins of the prohibition of genocide under international law date back to the end of World War II and the Nuremberg trial. The idea of the universal opposability of the prohibition of genocide in the advisory opinion on the Genocide Convention presents clear elements of analogy with the dictum on obligations erga omnes, in both substance and terminology. In examining these elements of analogy, this chapter shows how the legal reasoning followed in earlier pronouncements is an important component in the process by which later pronouncements by the International Court crystallize new legal developments. The chapter refers also to the principle of universal jurisdiction and selected aspects of the Genocide case (Bosnia v. Serbia).Less
The origins of the prohibition of genocide under international law date back to the end of World War II and the Nuremberg trial. The idea of the universal opposability of the prohibition of genocide in the advisory opinion on the Genocide Convention presents clear elements of analogy with the dictum on obligations erga omnes, in both substance and terminology. In examining these elements of analogy, this chapter shows how the legal reasoning followed in earlier pronouncements is an important component in the process by which later pronouncements by the International Court crystallize new legal developments. The chapter refers also to the principle of universal jurisdiction and selected aspects of the Genocide case (Bosnia v. Serbia).
Tony Platt
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780719097560
- eISBN:
- 9781526104441
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719097560.003.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Anthropology, Global
Focussing on the exhumation of Native American gravesites in the American West in the 20th century, the chapter presents a counter-narrative to many of the prevailing assumptions surrounding the ...
More
Focussing on the exhumation of Native American gravesites in the American West in the 20th century, the chapter presents a counter-narrative to many of the prevailing assumptions surrounding the exhumation of the dead: that the descendants, biological and cultural, of the victims of mass crimes of genocide and violence want their ancestors to be traced, exhumed, identified, named, and publicly acknowledged. But to understand the history of this region’s bitter legacies requires a larger context and backstory, one in which archaeological-scientific abuse was one of three interrelated catastrophes that indigenous people experienced.Less
Focussing on the exhumation of Native American gravesites in the American West in the 20th century, the chapter presents a counter-narrative to many of the prevailing assumptions surrounding the exhumation of the dead: that the descendants, biological and cultural, of the victims of mass crimes of genocide and violence want their ancestors to be traced, exhumed, identified, named, and publicly acknowledged. But to understand the history of this region’s bitter legacies requires a larger context and backstory, one in which archaeological-scientific abuse was one of three interrelated catastrophes that indigenous people experienced.
Tiago Saraiva
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035033
- eISBN:
- 9780262335706
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035033.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Political History
“Fascist Pigs” investigates the breeding of new animals and plants embodying fascism. It details the role of technoscientific organisms in the national battles for food independence launched by ...
More
“Fascist Pigs” investigates the breeding of new animals and plants embodying fascism. It details the role of technoscientific organisms in the national battles for food independence launched by Mussolini, Salazar, and Hitler, the first large scale mobilizations of the three fascist regimes. The narrative transforms the fascist “back to the land” into a modernist experiment involving geneticists and their organisms (wheat, potatoes, pigs), mass propaganda for peasants and urban consumers, and overgrown bureaucratic structures. In contrast to the generalized emphasis on race, it brings food to the forefront of a renewed understanding of fascism.The fascist obsession with land translated also into violent imperial quests for Lebensraum in Europe and Africa. The book unveils how agricultural experiment stations in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Auschwitz were central for putting in place colonial forced labor schemes for the production of coffee, cotton, and rubber. The story of karakul sheep standardized by scientists at the University of Halle goes a step further. It follows sheep around into Germany, Ukraine, South West Africa, Libya, and Angola, connecting through the travels of a single organism the white settler stories and frontier genocide of the three fascist regimes.This is not a study about what happened to scientists under fascism, but one that by following the historical trajectories of technoscientific organisms reveals how new forms of life intervened in the formation and expansion of fascism.Less
“Fascist Pigs” investigates the breeding of new animals and plants embodying fascism. It details the role of technoscientific organisms in the national battles for food independence launched by Mussolini, Salazar, and Hitler, the first large scale mobilizations of the three fascist regimes. The narrative transforms the fascist “back to the land” into a modernist experiment involving geneticists and their organisms (wheat, potatoes, pigs), mass propaganda for peasants and urban consumers, and overgrown bureaucratic structures. In contrast to the generalized emphasis on race, it brings food to the forefront of a renewed understanding of fascism.The fascist obsession with land translated also into violent imperial quests for Lebensraum in Europe and Africa. The book unveils how agricultural experiment stations in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Auschwitz were central for putting in place colonial forced labor schemes for the production of coffee, cotton, and rubber. The story of karakul sheep standardized by scientists at the University of Halle goes a step further. It follows sheep around into Germany, Ukraine, South West Africa, Libya, and Angola, connecting through the travels of a single organism the white settler stories and frontier genocide of the three fascist regimes.This is not a study about what happened to scientists under fascism, but one that by following the historical trajectories of technoscientific organisms reveals how new forms of life intervened in the formation and expansion of fascism.
