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 IV. 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; Part V. Conclusions: 18. The specter of genocide Robert Gellately and Ben Kiernan.

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Offers an up-to-date, comprehensive history and analyses of multiple cases of genocide and genocidal acts.

Reviews

'... extraordinarily informative ... Recommended as a companion to classic titles like Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem.' Publishers Weekly 'Kiernan and Gellately have assembled a stellar group of academics to produce a first-rate book usefully balanced between theory and case studies and focusing on the 55 years since the UN genocide convention was adopted ... Highly recommended.' Choice 'This book is a starting point for those who wish to learn more about the complexities of the genocide debate.' Military Review '... includes a number of important and interesting selections on some of the lesser known-cases of genocide.' Ethnic and Racial Studies 'The editors of The Specter of Genocide offer a geographical and chronologically wide-ranging volume, assimilating a vairety of topics better than many edited volumes. Readers will especially appreciate the theortetical overview they provide.' Holocaust & Genocide Studies '... useful comments on general aspects of genocide and near genocide: an obsession with purity and pollution on the part of the persecutors, the holding of power by military groups who are unrestrained by civilian politicians or public opinion, revolutionary governments transforming society, and peasantism, the idealization of the rooted cultivator of the soil.' Morality

'... extraordinarily informative ... Recommended as a companion to classic titles like Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem.' Publishers Weekly 'Kiernan and Gellately have assembled a stellar group of academics to produce a first-rate book usefully balanced between theory and case studies and focusing on the 55 years since the UN genocide convention was adopted ... Highly recommended.' Choice 'This book is a starting point for those who wish to learn more about the complexities of the genocide debate.' Military Review '... includes a number of important and interesting selections on some of the lesser known-cases of genocide.' Ethnic and Racial Studies 'The editors of The Specter of Genocide offer a geographical and chronologically wide-ranging volume, assimilating a vairety of topics better than many edited volumes. Readers will especially appreciate the theortetical overview they provide.' Holocaust & Genocide Studies '... useful comments on general aspects of genocide and near genocide: an obsession with purity and pollution on the part of the persecutors, the holding of power by military groups who are unrestrained by civilian politicians or public opinion, revolutionary governments transforming society, and peasantism, the idealization of the rooted cultivator of the soil.' Morality

While this is definitely a collection of distinguished scholars writing for other scholars, the editors, historians at Clark and Yale respectively, bring together a cogent group of perspectives on the history and causes of mass murder. The University of Minnesota's Eric Weitz makes a persuasive case that the peculiar 20th-century combination of mass society, technology and racist ideologies has made genocide so much easier than in previous centuries that it has become both more pervasive and more destructive, looking to those who engage in it as an easy way out. "Genocides of Indigenous People," by Claremont Graduate University's Elazar Barkan contains many insights on the question of inherited collective guilt, as well as good historical summaries. Of the less theoretical historical narratives, some cover well-trodden ground but with clarity and vigor, including studies of the Holocaust and Yugoslavia. Others present examples of genocide not commonly known, such as the Indonesian slaughter of the population of East Timor and the U.S.-backed government of Guatemala's war against its Mayan population. Particular distinction belongs to the summary of Rwanda, extraordinarily informative for its brevity. In both introduction and afterword, the editors emphasize the necessity of broad but informed definitions of genocide as essential in raising barriers against it. (June) Forecast: While annotations and bibliography serve to guide educated lay readers to more accessible sources, this is not the place for lay readers to begin inquiries, and the book's price definitely aims it toward libraries. Still, as a distillation of the most recent thinking, it can be recommended as a companion to classic titles like Hannah Arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.