Introduction
Genocide is a sad story, a terrible experience, and an imagination that someone would never wish to happen to any group in society because it has terrible implications for human life psychologically, physically, economically, and socially. [1]It is a complex and multifaceted occurrence, which in most situations, results from a long history of racial, ethnic, national, religious, political, or any other form of tension and conflicts influenced by minor circumstances, igniting anger between the conflicting groups. Dehumanization of the target group is the main factor that would cause persecution to the inferior group by a superior group who would feel threatened, and hatred might force them to retaliate against the hate, mistreatment and injustice done to them.
[2]Genocide would involve deliberately and systematically causing violence to destroy properties and murder randomly members of the target group, ethnic cleansing of the minority in the society, mass killing, Politicide, and democide. Other sinister happenings during the Genocide include rape, torture, and mutilation, as well as the destruction of cultural and religious heritage, forced displacement, and the denial of basic human rights. It becomes quite hard to control Genocide because it escalates quickly and intensely when there are poor legal frameworks committed to upholding human rights and the rule of law, as well as a willingness to take action to prevent and punish those responsible for Genocide.
The study of Genocide in relation to political violence is essential because historic political convictions are largely influenced by emotional perceptions based on groupings in the society or nation. Thus, when certain groups view themselves as inferior and unrepresented and feel their interests are neglected intentionally or ignorantly, the people resolve to anger and hatred, which could be a recipe for Genocide. [3]Various examples of Genocide include the Holocaust, the Armenian, the Rwandan, Cambodia, and the Bosnian, among others.
Various Categories
- Murder
[4]In the history of Genocide, murder has been the primary method that has been used to commit Genocide, as it is the most lethal tool for retaliation and persecution. The severity of Genocide is determined based on the total number of people who were killed. The most where in most of all genocide cases, murder was a priority by the targeting group. [5]Some of the case studies of the worst genocides characterized by systematic murdering include Mao Zedong’s Regime(1949-1976), Stalin’s Communist Regime (1929-1953), The Holocaust (1939-1945), the Cambodian Genocide, Armenia Genocide, Rwandan Genocide among others.
[6]Mao Zedong’s Regime (1949-1976) had a communistic ruling in China where Mao Zedong murdered an estimated number of people, between 40 million to 70 million during his reign, which was a very large population. He committed these atrocities in two circumstances where The “Great Lead Forward” and the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” was faced with an anti-government protestation, resulting in many people dying in prison camps, and The “Leap” agricultural development plan, which ended up starving more than 30 million farmers to death.
[7]Stalin’s Communist Regime (1929-1953) of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union executed a murderous outbreak, including the Great Purge, targeting specifically political dissenters and the Ukrainian Famine. This mass starvation was imposed and condemned the entire Ukrainian population to a slow demise. [8]It terminated between 23 and 50 million people’s lives. In other genocides like Cambodian under the leadership of the Khmer Rouge from 1976 to 1980, who declared a new era of peasant-oriented society, he mistreated them and murdered about 2 million people. [9]The Rwandan massacre ignited by the sudden death of President Habyarimana in 1994 resulted in conflict between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi resulting in the death of about 1 million people.
- Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic differences in a society or nation with historical injustices done to either group have been a serious cause of Genocide where the groups coexist with regular systematic attaches on each other. [10]When either clash escalates, it becomes disastrous because the majority group will cause violence and forcefully expulse or exterminate the inferior ethnic group from the geographical area. In addition, it can force the creation of an ethnically homogeneous society following the rules, cultures, leadership, and another social, economic, and political lifestyle. Most of the genocides in the history of the world are characterized by ethnic differences.
For instance, the Rwandan Genocide was purely provoked by historic ethnic differences between the ethnic members of Tutsi, a minority, and the members of people of the ethnic origin of Hutu. [11]The ethnic difference is believed to have started during colonial rule when the minority Tutsi were favored and given lucrative privileges by the colony. The death of their president, who was of Hutu ethnicity, was believed to be an assassination led by Tutsi. Thus, the Hutu-led government, police, soldiers, and militia, using riffles and machetes, led a campaign to slaughter their counterparts with no mercy systematically.
[12]Another example of ethnic cleansing genocide was executed in Armenia in Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1919, where a systematic slaughtering of Armenian Christians by Ottoman forces happened. The Ottoman justified the cleansing to terminate the invasion of Christianity conspiracy that desired secession. He ordered the systematic killing of men and forced women and children to confess, denouncing Christianity and conversion to the Islamic religion.
- Mass Killing
This action is typically taken with the intent to completely or partially eradicate the target group due to their ethnicity, religion, nationality, or race, culminating from differences in historical backgrounds. [13]Mass murder is a form of Genocide that can involve various techniques, such as bombings, shootings, or other acts of violence meant to terrorize the targeted population and establish dominance and control over them. Several genocides have been characterized by mass killing, probably authority-led in the respective set of society.
[14]The Holocaust is one of the most horrific mass killing executed by Adolf Hitler between 1941 and 1945, during World War II in Germany, where he persecuted the “undesired” elements, who were Jews. Jews with other minorities were subjected to mass shootings, death matches, extermination camps, and deprived food, among other atrocities. [15]The Nazis regime killed over 6 million Jews and several other minorities across Europe.
[16]Another mass killing happened during the Mongol invasion in the 13th century, characterized by widespread terror perpetuated by the Mongol army, where an average of 80 million people were killed. The idea behind the killing was to conquer and expand the Mongol territory across the Eurasian continent. Also, the invasion displaced a huge population due to terror and panic, who ran and left their places, which Mongolians later took up.
[17]The Circassian Genocide was another example of mass killing where Russia led a massacre of Muslim Circassians who lived alongside the Black Sea from 1840 to 1870. The Russian-Circassian war was attributed to the Genocide where the agenda of the Russian force was to forcefully deport native Carcassians people to some parts of the Ottoman Empire, Ubykhs, Abkhaz, and other parts, from their land to create space for the Russians to occupy. During this altercation, more than 600,000 Circassia people lost their lives.
- Politicide
[18]Politicide is another form of Genocide characterized by political violence where a group or government systematically seeks to eliminate or suppress another group based on their political beliefs or affiliations. Political divide probably in power or the stronger political group would instigate violence in the form of killings, torture, forced displacement, imprisonment, and non-violent tactics like censorship and propaganda. [19]Historian Barbara Harff coined the term “politicide” in the 1980s to describe the phenomenon of state-led violence against political opposition groups. During Politicide, the destruction of political institutions, such as political parties, labor unions, and civil society organizations perceived as a threat to the ruling regime’s power happens. Politicide might not have a lot of killing. Still, there could be severe discrimination and suppression of human rights by the opposing group. It is more of modern Genocide because politics are evolving in all nations in the world. There are various occasions where politics happened.
[20]The military was used as a political system in the Argentine dictatorship, which terrorized the country from 1976 to 1983, kidnapping, torturing, and killing tens of thousands of its citizens. [21]The ruling party restricted the freedom of speech of those who supported the murder of defenseless civilians, some of whom “disappeared” but were killed. About 30% of those who vanished were women; some were abducted along with their children, and perhaps 3% either became pregnant while detained or became pregnant while there, usually as a result of guard rape. Pregnant prisoners were frequently kept alive until they gave birth. At that point, they were killed, and the infants and young children were taken from their missing parents and given to childless military and police couples and other people who the regime favored while having their identities erased.
[22]Another phenomenon, which occurred in a different version of Politicide, is the Cambodian Genocide. The Khmer Rouge regime, led by Pol Pot, used that situation and targeted anyone perceived as a threat to his regime, including intellectuals, professionals, political opponents, and their followers. Pol Pot intensified the war in 1977, and in December 1978, the Vietnamese sent more than 60,000 troops, along with air and artillery units, across the border. On January 7, 1979, they captured Phnom Penh and forced Pol Pot to flee into the jungle, where he resumed guerrilla operations, killing hundreds of thousands of people.
- Democide
[23]Democide is another form of Genocide, which is centrally controlled by the government or the leadership to kill or suppress many people for political reasons such as maintaining power. The target group in democide is not entirely based on ethnic, religious, or racial segregation but a general one perceived to threaten the regime in power, including political opponents, activists, and intellectuals. Democide closely relates to Politicide, but it is not much influenced by history, but the current situation, which would try to make the authority uncomfortable. Authoritarian leaders, vigilantes, or a section of military groups to counter resistance from a section of people mostly execute democide, intending to shut the opponents down and ensure no one opposes their leadership. Most of the genocide phenomenon had elements of democide where the authority could execute groups that tried to oppose their plans and operations.
[24]Another instance of democide occurred during the Darfurian Genocide, which was carried out in retaliation for an attack on the government by a rebel group in Darfur in 2003. The two Darfuri rebel organizations launched attacks on the Sudanese government’s military targets, the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). In response, the government of Sudan, headed by President Omar al-Bashir, armed the Janjaweed militia to attack black Africans in Darfur who were viewed as sympathetic to the rebels. Based on their racial and religious identities, they attacked and killed many civilians in South Kordofan, the Blue Nile, and the Nuba Mountains, applying the same “scorched earth” policies as they did in Darfur.
[25]Besides, the current situation in China is a form of democide where the Chinese government is campaigning against the Uighur Muslim minority in Xinjiang province. It has been including mass detentions, forced labor, and cultural suppression. Since 2017, the execution has been going on, and the exact number of victims is unknown, but estimates range from hundreds of thousands to over a million.
Conclusion
In conclusion, genocide phenomena have been expressed in certain ways, most of which have been witnessed in almost all genocide cases. These genocides include all genocides that have elements of intentional, deliberate, and systematic violence, destruction, displacement, and killing. Various reasons have described the category of Genocide. For instance, mass killings would happen for political, economic, social, racial, or religious reasons. Similarly to murdering, ethnic cleansing, which results from a conflict between the superior and inferior ethnic group, Politicide, and democide are all triggered one either of the mentioned reasons. Various examples of Genocide include the Holocaust genocide, the Armenian Genocide, the Rwandan Genocide, the Cambodian Genocide, Algeria’s dictatorial regime, and the current evident one in China, where the Muslim group is being oppressed. The study of these categories as related to Genocide is critical in understanding its history, the factors which contributed to it, and the vulnerability aspect of the inferiors in relation to the superiors. Due to growing civilizations worldwide, politics have remained the most likely dispensation with possible sources of violence. Thus the study of political violence helps understand it and evaluate possible prevention and mitigation measures.
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[1] Reuter, T. Kempin. “ethnic conflict.” Encyclopedia Britannica, November 15, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ethnic-conflict.
[2] The Holocaust Explained. “What Is Genocide?” The Darfur Genocide – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools, n.d.. https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/what-was-genocide/the-darfur-genocide/.
[3] Reports, Staff. “World’s Worst Genocides.” BORGEN, February 25, 2016. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/worlds-worst-genocides/.
[4] FEIN, HELEN. “Accounting for Genocide after 1945: Theories and Some Findings.” International Journal on Group Rights 1, no. 2 (1993): 79–106. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24674446.
[5] The Holocaust Explained. “What Is Genocide?” The Darfur Genocide – The Holocaust Explained: Designed for schools, n.d.. https://www.theholocaustexplained.org/what-was-the-holocaust/what-was-genocide/the-darfur-genocide/.
[6] Reports, Staff. “World’s Worst Genocides.” BORGEN, February 25, 2016. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/worlds-worst-genocides/.
[7] Hingley, R. Francis. “Joseph Stalin.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 31, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Stalin.
[8] Reports, Staff. “World’s Worst Genocides.” BORGEN, February 25, 2016. https://www.borgenmagazine.com/worlds-worst-genocides/.
[9] SLAWSON, LARRY. “The Top 10 Worst Genocides in History.” owlcation, January 1, 2023. https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Top-10-Worst-Genocides-in-History
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[13] Vaughan, D.. “mass murder.” Encyclopedia Britannica, April 4, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/mass-murder.
[14] Berenbaum, M.. “Holocaust.” Encyclopedia Britannica, April 4, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/event/Holocaust.
[15] Berenbaum, M.. “Holocaust.” Encyclopedia Britannica, April 4, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/event/Holocaust.
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[17] SLAWSON, LARRY. “The Top 10 Worst Genocides in History.” owlcation, January 1, 2023. https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Top-10-Worst-Genocides-in-History.
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[21] Holocaust Museum Houston. Holocaust Museum Houston, n.d.. https://hmh.org/education/argentina-1976-1983/.
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[24] Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Eduard Rüppell.” Encyclopedia Britannica, December 6, 2022. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Eduard-Ruppell.
[25] Maizland, Lindsay. “China’s Repression of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.” Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, September 22, 2022. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/china-xinjiang-uyghurs-muslims-repression-genocide-human-rights.
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