Description
Book Synopsis Why did the Armenian genocide erupt in Turkey in 1915, only seven years after the Armenian minority achieved civil equality for the first time in the history of the Ottoman Empire? How can we explain the Rwandan genocide occurring in 1994, after decades of relative peace and even cooperation between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority? Addressing the question of how the risk of genocide develops over time, On the Path to Genocide contributes to a better understand why genocide occurs when it does. It provides a comprehensive and comparative historical analysis of the factors that led to the 1915 Armenian genocide and the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, using fresh sources and perspectives that yield new insights into the history of the Armenian and Rwandan peoples. Finally, it also presents new research into constraints that inhibit genocide, and how they can be utilized to attempt the prevention of genocide in the future.
Trade Review “Mayersen has written a fine text… Ultimately, Mayersen concludes that genocides are ‘fundamentally preventable’ and offers insights into prevention. The text is well organized, thoroughly researched, and brings to bear important new perspectives on genocide studies. – Highly recommended.” · Choice
“This is an excellent book. The combination of theory and context works well…The prose is sharp and the author has set up the problem in a logical way that is easy to follow. It also benefits from an interdisciplinary approach. Her grasp of detail is superior to many theorists…It reads very fluently, the author is clearly a gifted prose writer. The thread of argument runs through the book in a compelling way…The conclusion is full of intriguing ties to other case studies and the author summarizes her argument well.” · Cathie Carmichael, University of East Anglia
Table of Contents Acknowledgements
Introduction: ‘The Symptoms of an Explosive Situation’: The Temporal Model of Genocide
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Chapter 1.‘Trying Desperately to Escape History’: The Armenian Question
Chapter 2. ‘A Settled Plan to Slowly Exterminate’: The Hamidian Massacres
Chapter 3. ‘They will have to be Destroyed’: From Massacre to Genocide
THE RWANDAN GENOCIDE
Chapter 4. ‘A European under Black Skin’: Pre-colonial and Colonial Rwanda
Chapter 5. ‘A Massive Rejection of the Tutsi as Fellow Nationals’: Race, Violence and Independence
Chapter 6. ‘A Cockroach gives birth to another Cockroach’: From Coexistence to Extermination
THE PATH TO GENOCIDE
Chapter 7. ‘Driven by Ethnic Exclusivism’: On the Timing of Genocide
Chapter 8. ‘Our only Hope, therefore, rests on the Obstacle’: Constraints Against Genocide
Chapter 9. ‘A Pattern ... Repeated Numerous Times’: The Wider Applicability of the Temporal Model
Conclusion: ‘We are all Brothers’: The Temporal Model and Genocide Prevention
Bibliography
Index
