The Magnitude of Genocide

Now recognised as ‘the crime of crimes’, genocide has recurred since human prehistory. But it was such a ‘normal’ aspect of warfare, slave-taking and colonisation that it lacked a name until 1944. Decades later, it became a recognised field of research in aid of international efforts to curb and punish it.

This book explores the history of the practice and the concept of genocide, and progress made in reining it in. It delves into the anatomy of genocide – the actors and processes involved. It discusses the causes, the effects, and the possible responses. And it reveals how the modern world has changed many aspects of genocide, as well as giving birth to a movement set on eradicating it.

‘The magnitude of genocide is an amazingly readable tour de force. Rarely have I seen the dread topic of genocide addressed so humanely and interestingly. Tatz and Higgins also do not stop at the past or vague portents of the future, and they dare to take on courageously Islamic fundamentalism, and even the dangers of undue free speech, such as on the internet, as enabling hate speech and the detonation of genocidal explosions. Strangely, this is even a book to enjoy.’

Israel Charny Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, Jerusalem

‘The magnitude of genocide’ is a unique, wide-ranging, thoughtful, revealing, important, and up-to-date study of a pressing subject. It is well-researched, distils decades of experience and expertise, and addresses many of the key issues in confronting the scourge of genocide.’

Ben Kiernan Yale University