Genocide Studies: Home

The term "genocide" was created in the 1940s to describe an action aimed at the destruction of an entire group of people, such as a nation, an ethnic group, or a race. However, genocide has occurred throughout human history, and unfortunately shows no sign of disappearing today. This book examines examples of genocide from around the world and asks important questions surrounding this most chilling of human crimes: Why do ordinary people participate in such inhuman atrocities? How can communities stop genocides from occurring?

This volume contains previously published material, which narrates and analyzes the Armenian massacres of 1894-1896, 1909, and 1915-1923. Background information and first person accounts of the events are provided.

This volume contains a collection of essays about historical and ongoing human rights violations suffered by the Rohingya peoples of Burma, and includes background information that details the factors that gave rise to the conflict. First-person narratives are provided.

Ethnic, racial, and religious groups have long been targets of violence and oppression. This volume contains previously published material, which narrates and analyzes the acts of genocide and extreme persecution committed by Sudanese government forces in Darfur.

From April to July 1994, members of the Hutu ethnic majority in the east-central African nation of Rwanda murdered as many as 800,000 people, mostly of the Tutsi minority. The essays in this anthology document and explain the social, historical, and economic factors that led to the genocide in Rwanda.