Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members without the intention to eliminate the whole group, [1] or otherwise the killing of large numbers of people without a clear group membership. [2]
Mass killing is used by a number of genocide scholars because genocide (its strict definition) does not cover mass killing events in which no specific ethnic or religious groups are targeted, or events in which perpetrators do not intend to eliminate whole groups or significant parts of them. Genocide scholars use different models in order to explain and predict the onset of mass killing events. There has been little consensus [3] and no generally-accepted terminology, [4] prompting scholars, such as Anton Weiss-Wendt, [5] to describe comparative attempts a failure. [6] Genocide scholarship rarely appears in mainstream disciplinary journals. [7]
Several different terms are used to describe the intentional killing of large numbers of noncombatants, [5] but there is no consensus or generally-accepted terminology. [8] [9] [10] [11] Mass killing has emerged as a "more straightforward" term than genocide or politicide. [12] Mass killing was proposed by genocide scholars in attempts to collect a uniform global database of genocidal events and identify statistical models for prediction of onset of mass killings. Atsushi Tago and Frank Wayman reference mass killing as defined by Valentino and state that even with a lower threshold (10,000 killed per year, 1,000 killed per year, or even 1), "autocratic regimes, especially communist, are prone to mass killing generically, but not so strongly inclined (i.e. not statistically significantly inclined) toward geno-politicide." [13] Other terms used by several authors to describe mass killings of non-combattents include:
In the United States, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012, passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, clarified the statutory authority for federal law enforcement agencies to provide investigatory assistance to the States, and mandated across federal agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, a definition of "mass killing" as three or more killings during an incident, while making no reference to the choice of weapon. [28] [29] [30] [31]
Benjamin Valentino outlines two major categories of mass killings: dispossessive mass killing and coercive mass killing. The first category defines three types: communist, ethnic, and territorial, containing the following scenarios of ethnic cleansing, killings that accompany agrarian reforms in some Communist states, and killings during colonial expansion, among others. The second category includes the types: counterguerrilla, terrorist, and imperialist, containing the following scenarios of killing during counterinsurgent warfare, and killings as part of the imperialist conquests by the Axis powers during the World War II, among others. [32]
Type | Scenario | Examples [nb 2] |
---|---|---|
Dispossessive mass killing | ||
Communist | Agricultural collectivization and political terror | The Holodomor (1931–1933) Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) Cambodian genocide (1975–1979) |
Fascist | Political terror and ethnic cleansing | Spanish White Terror (1936–1975) The Holocaust (1939–1945) Argentine Dirty War (1974–1983) |
Ethnic | Ethnic cleansing | Turkish Armenia (1915–1918) The Holocaust (1939–1945) Rwandan genocide (1994) |
Territorial | Colonial enlargement | American Indian Wars (15th–20th centuries) Genocide of the Herero in German South-West Africa (1904–1907) |
Expansionist wars | German annexation of western Poland (1939–1945) Genocide of the Herero in German South-West Africa (1904–1907) | |
Coercive mass killing | ||
Counterguerrilla | Guerrilla wars | Algerian war of independence from France (1954–1962) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989) Ethiopian civil war (1970s–1980s) |
Terrorist | Terror bombing | Allied bombings of Germany and Japan (1940–1945) The Blitz (1940–1941) |
Starvation blockades/siege warfare | Allied naval blockade of Germany (1914–1919) Nigerian land blockade Biafra (1967–1970) | |
Sub-state/insurgent terrorism | FLN terrorism in Algerian war of independence against France (1954–1962) RENAMO terrorism in Mozambique (1976–1992) AUC terrorism in Colombia (1997–2008) | |
Imperialist | Imperial conquests and rebellions | German occupation of Western Europe (1940–1945) Japan's empire in East Asia (1910–1945) |
Benjamin Valentino does not consider ideology or regime-type as an important factor that explains mass killings, and outlines Communist mass killing as a subtype of dispossessive mass killing, which is considered as a complication of original theory his book is based on. [13] About why it occurs, [34] Valentino states that ideology, paranoia, and racism can shape leaders' beliefs for why genocide and mass killing may be justified. [35] Unlike Rudolph Rummel and first-generation studies, Valentino does not see authoritarianism or totalitarianism as explaining mass killing; [36] it is not ideology or regime-type but the leader's motive that matters and can explain it, [37] which is in line with second-generation scholarship. [37]
Manus Midlarsky also focuses on leaders' decision making but his case selection and general conclusions are different from Valentino's. Midlarsky has a narrower definition of the dependent variable and only analyzes three case studies (the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the Rwanda genocide). Midlarsky tries to explain why individuals may comply with the culprits, why politicide rather than genocide happened in Cambodia (Cambodian genocide), and why ethnic minorities, such as Greeks in the Ottoman Empire and Jews in the Second Polish Republic, were not targeted for genocide. Like Michael Mann and Valentino to a lesser extent, Midlarsky mainly addresses genocides that did not take place. Both Midlarsky and Valentino mainly focus on proximate conditions, while Mann considers genocide within the broad context of ideologies and nation-states development. [38]
At least two global databases of mass killings are available. The first compilation by Rudolph Rummel covers a time period from the beginning of the 20th century until 1987 covering democide, while the second compilation by Barbara Harff combines politicide and genocide since 1955. The Harff database is the most frequently used by genocide scholars, while the Rummel database is a good framework for studying mass killings during the 1900–1987 period. [13]
These data are intended mostly for statistical analysis of mass killings in attempt to identify the best predictors for their onset. According to Harff, these data are not necessarily the most accurate for a given country, since some sources are general genocide scholars and not experts on local history. [17] A comparative analysis of the Yugoslav data in two databases revealed a significant difference between the figures of killed per years and low correlation between Rummel's and Harff's data sets. Tomislav Dulić criticized [39] Rummel's generally higher numbers as arising from flaws in Rummel's statistical methodology, and Rummel's response [40] was not convincing. [41]
Another comparative analysis of the two complete databases by Atsushi Tago and Frank W. Wayman revealed that the significant difference between the figures is explained by Harff's dataset of politicide-geoncide being essentially a subset of Rummel's dataset, where he includes other types of killings in addition to politicide-genocide. [13]
Country | Start | End | Nature of episode | Est. number of victims | Related articles |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sudan | October 1956 | March 1972 | Politicide with communal victims | 400,000–600,000 | First Sudanese Civil War |
South Vietnam | January 1965 | April 1975 | Politicide | 400,000–500,000 | South Vietnam |
China | March 1959 | December 1959 | Genocide and politicide | 65,000 | 1959 Tibetan uprising |
Iraq | June 1963 | March 1975 | Politicide with communal victims | 30,000–60,000 | Ba'athist Iraq |
Algeria | July 1962 | December 1962 | Politicide | 9,000–30,000 | Sétif and Guelma massacre |
Rwanda | December 1963 | June 1964 | Politicide with communal victims | 12,000–20,000 | Rwandan Revolution |
Congo-Kinshasa | February 1964 | January 1965 | Politicide | 1,000–10,000 | |
Burundi | October 1965 | December 1973 | Politicide with communal victims | 140,000 | |
Indonesia | November 1965 | July 1966 | Genocide and politicide | 500,000–1,000,000 | Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966 |
China | May 1966 | March 1975 | Politicide | 400,000–850,000 | Cultural Revolution |
Guatemala | July 1978 | December 1996 | Politicide and genocide | 60,000–200,000 | Guatemalan genocide |
Pakistan | March 1971 | December 1971 | Genocide and politicide | 2,000,000–3,000,000 | 1971 Bangladesh genocide |
Uganda | December 1972 | April 1979 | Politicide and genocide | 50,000–400,000 | Idi Amin |
Philippines | September 1972 | June 1976 | Politicide with communal victims | 60,000 | Martial law under Ferdinand Marcos |
Pakistan | February 1973 | July 1977 | Politicide with communal victims | 5,000–10,000 | 1970s operation in Balochistan |
Cyprus | 1955 | 1974 | Ethnic violence and communal victims | 6.000-10.000 | Cyprus problem |
Chile | September 1973 | December 1976 | Politicide | 5,000–10,000 | Human rights abuses in Chile under Augusto Pinochet |
Angola | November 1975 | 2001 | Politicide by UNITA and government forces | 500,000 | Angolan Civil War |
Cambodia | April 1975 | January 1979 | Politicide and genocide | 1,900,000–3,500,000 | Cambodian genocide |
Indonesia | December 1975 | July 1992 | Politicide with communal victims | 100,000–200,000 | East Timor genocide |
Argentina | March 1976 | December 1980 | Politicide | 9,000–20,000 | Dirty War |
Ethiopia | July 1976 | December 1979 | Politicide | 10,000 | Qey Shibir |
Congo-Kinshasa | March 1977 | December 1979 | Politicide with communal victims | 3,000–4,000 | |
Afghanistan | April 1978 | April 1992 | Politicide | 1,800,000 | Soviet–Afghan War |
Burma | January 1978 | December 1978 | Genocide | 5,000 | Operation Dragon King |
El. Salvador | January 1980 | December 1989 | Politicide | 40,000–60,000 | Salvadoran Civil War |
Uganda | December 1980 | January 1986 | Politicide and genocide | 200,000–500,000 | Ugandan Bush War |
Syria | March 1981 | February 1982 | Politicide | 5,000–30,000 | 1982 Hama massacre |
Iran | June 1981 | December 1992 | Politicide and genocide | 10,000–20,000 | Casualties of the Iranian Revolution 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners |
Sudan | September 1983 | ? | Politicide with communal victims | 2,000,000 | Second Sudanese Civil War |
India | November 1984 | November 1984 | Pogrom | 3,000-30,000 | 1984 anti-Sikh riots |
Iraq | March 1988 | June 1991 | Politicide with communal victims | 180,000 | 1991 Iraqi uprisings |
Somalia | May 1988 | January 1991 | Politicide with communal victims | 15,000–50,000 | |
Burundi | 1988 | 1988 | Genocide | 5,000–20,000 | Hutu massacres of 1988 |
Sri Lanka | September 1989 | January 1990 | Politicide | 13,000–30,000 | 1987–1989 JVP insurrection |
Bosnia | May 1992 | November 1995 | Genocide | 225,000 | Bosnian genocide |
Burundi | October 1993 | May 1994 | Genocide | 50,000 | Burundian genocides |
Rwanda | April 1994 | July 1994 | Genocide | 500,000–1,000,000 | Rwandan genocide |
China | 1949 - 1976 | ? | Genocide - Politicide | 45,000,000 | History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976) |
Serbia | December 1998 | July 1999 | Politicide with communal victims | 10,000 | War crimes in the Kosovo War |
Democide refers to "the intentional killing of an unarmed or disarmed person by government agents acting in their authoritative capacity and pursuant to government policy or high command." The term was first coined by Holocaust historian and statistics expert, R.J. Rummel in his book Death by Government, but has also been described as a better term than genocide to refer to certain types of mass killings, by renowned Holocaust historian Yehuda Bauer. According to Rummel, this definition covers a wide range of deaths, including forced labor and concentration camp victims, extrajudicial summary killings, and mass deaths due to governmental acts of criminal omission and neglect, such as in deliberate famines like the Holodomor, as well as killings by de facto governments, for example, killings during a civil war. This definition covers any murder of any number of persons by any government.
Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no intent to cause harm. It is separate from suicide.
Rudolph Joseph Rummel was an American political scientist, a statistician and professor at Indiana University, Yale University, and University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He spent his career studying data on collective violence and war with a view toward helping their resolution or elimination. Contrasting genocide, Rummel coined the term democide for murder by government, such as the genocide of indigenous peoples and colonialism, Nazi Germany, the Stalinist purges, Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, and other authoritarian, totalitarian, or undemocratic regimes, coming to the conclusion that democratic regimes result in the least democides.
The actions by governments of communist states have been subject to criticism across the political spectrum. Communist party rule has been especially criticized by anti-communists and right-wing critics, but also by other socialists such as anarchists, democratic socialists, libertarian socialists, orthodox Marxists, and Trotskyist communists. Ruling communist parties have also been challenged by domestic dissent. According to the critics, rule by communist parties has often led to totalitarianism, political repression, restrictions of human rights, poor economic performance, and cultural and artistic censorship.
Communism is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need. A communist society would entail the absence of private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state.
Genocide definitions include many scholarly and international legal definitions of genocide, a word coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944. The word is a compound of the ancient Greek word γένος and the Latin word caedō ("kill"). While there are various definitions of the term, almost all international bodies of law officially adjudicate the crime of genocide pursuant to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG).
Political cleansing of a population is the elimination of categories of people in specific areas for political reasons. The means may vary and include forced migration, ethnic cleansing and population transfers.
Mass killings under communist regimes occurred through a variety of means during the 20th century, including executions, famine, deaths through forced labour, deportation, starvation, and imprisonment. Some of these events have been classified as genocides or crimes against humanity. Other terms have been used to describe these events, including classicide, democide, red holocaust, and politicide. The mass killings have been studied by authors and academics and several of them have postulated the potential causes of these killings along with the factors which were associated with them. Some authors have tabulated a total death toll, consisting of all of the excess deaths which cumulatively occurred under the rule of communist states, but these death toll estimates have been criticised. Most frequently, the states and events which are studied and included in death toll estimates are the Holodomor and the Great Purge in the Soviet Union, the Great Chinese Famine and the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China, and the Cambodian genocide in Democratic Kampuchea. Estimates of individuals killed range from a low of 10–20 million to as high as 148 million.
Barbara Harff is professor of political science emerita at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 2003 and again in 2005 she was a distinguished visiting professor at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University. Her research focuses on the causes, risks, and prevention of genocidal violence.
A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians en masse by an armed group or person.
Classicide is a concept proposed by sociologist Michael Mann to describe the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of a social class through persecution and violence. Although it was first used by physician and anti-communist activist Fred Schwarz in 1972, classicide was popularized by Mann as a term that is similar to but distinct from genocide because it means the "intended mass killing of entire social classes." Classicide is considered a form of "premeditated mass killing", which is narrower than genocide, because the target of a classicide is a part of a population which is defined by its social status, and classicide is also considered broader than politicide because the group which is targeted for classicide is killed without any concern for its political activities.
The ten stages of genocide, formerly the eight stages of genocide, is an academic tool and a policy model which was created by Gregory Stanton, former research professor and founding president of Genocide Watch, in order to explain how genocides occur. The stages of genocide are not linear, and as a result, several of them may occur simultaneously. Stanton's stages are a conceptual model with no real-world sampling for analyzing the events and processes that lead to genocides, and they are also a model for determining preventative measures.
The assessment of risk factors for genocide is an upstream mechanism for genocide prevention. The goal is to apply an assessment of risk factors to improve the predictive capability of the international community before the killing begins, and prevent it. There may be many warning signs that a country may be leaning in the direction of a future genocide. If signs are presented, the international community takes notes of them and watches over the countries that have a higher risk. Many different scholars, and international groups, have come up with different factors that they think should be considered while examining whether a nation is at risk or not. One predominant scholar in the field James Waller came up with his own four categories of risk factors: governance, conflict history, economic conditions, and social fragmentation.
Benjamin Andrew Valentino is a political scientist and professor at Dartmouth College. His 2004 book Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century, adapted from his PhD thesis and published by Cornell University Press, has been reviewed in several academic journals.
War and genocide studies is an interdisciplinary subject that identifies and analyzes the relationship between war and genocide, as well as the structural foundations of associated conflicts. Disciplines involved may include political science, geography, economics, sociology, international relations, and history.
Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century is a 2003 book by Benjamin Valentino on the political factors of mass killing and genocide.
Population cleansing is the deliberate removal of a population with certain undesirable characteristics, such as its ethnicity, its religion, its social group, its social class, its ideological or political criteria, etc. from certain territories.
This is a select annotated bibliography of scholarly English language books and journal articles about the subject of genocide studies; for bibliographies of genocidal acts or events, please see the See also section for individual articles. A brief selection of English translations of primary sources is included for items related to the development of genocide studies. Book entries may have references to journal articles and reviews as annotations. Additional bibliographies can be found in many of the book-length works listed below; see Further Reading for several book and chapter-length bibliographies. The External links section contains entries for publicly available materials on the development of genocide studies.
Below is an outline of articles on the academic field of genocide studies and subjects closely and directly related to the field of genocide studies; this is not an outline of acts or events related to genocide or topics loosely or sometimes related to the field of genocide studies. The Event outlines section contains links to outlines of acts of genocide.