Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide - Brossura

Semelin, Jacques

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1849043930 ISBN 13: 9781849043939

Casa editrice: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2014

Riassunto

How can we comprehend the socio-political processes that give rise to extreme violence, ethnic cleansing or genocide? A major breakthrough in comparative analysis, Purify and Destroy demonstrates that it is indeed possible to compare the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Hercegovina while respecting the specificities of each. Based on the essential distinction between massacre and genocide, Purify and Destroy identifies the main steps of a general process of destruction, rational and irrational, born of what Semelin terms 'delusional rationality', responding to fears, resentments and utopias, and re-modelling the social body by eliminating 'the enemy'. The main stages that can lead to a genocidal process, with ordinary people becoming perpetrators, are also identified.

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Recensione:

'This book is a major accomplishment in the study of genocide. Using the examples of the Holocaust, massacres in the former Yugoslavia, and genocide in Rwanda, Semelin explores the deep causes, specific triggers, political and international context, dynamics of implementation, nature of killing, and political uses of genocide as a modern phenomenon.' ----Professor Omer Bartov, Brown University, author of Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity

'In this wise, engaging, and erudite book, Jacques Semelin systematically investigates the sources of mass killing in the modern world. Although he uses the cases of Rwanda, the Holocaust, and Bosnia as the primary sources for his explorations, Semelin subjects the entire history of massacre, ethnic cleansing, and genocide in the twentieth century to a compelling and analytically innovative combination of psychological and social scientific insight. This is an analytical tour de force and a must read for anyone interested in the question: why genocide?' ----Professor Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University

L'autore:

Jacques Semelin is Professor of Political Science and Research Director at CERI-CNRS, Paris, France.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Data di pubblicazione: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1849043930
• ISBN 13: 9781849043939
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 400