WHAT IS GENOCIDE？

In this intellectually and politically potent new book, Martin Shaw proposes a way through the confusion surrounding the idea of genocide. He considers the origins and development of the concept and its relationships to other forms of political violence. Offering a radical critique of the existing literature on genocide, Shaw argues that what distinguishes genocide from more legitimate warfare is that the enemies targeted are groups and individuals of a civilian character. He vividly illustrates his argument from a wide range of historical episodes, and shows how the question 'What is genocide?' matters politically whenever populations are threatened by violence.

This compelling book will undoubtedly open up vigorous debate, appealing to students and scholars across the social sciences and in law. Shaw's arguments will be of lasting importance.

Martin Shaw, Professor of International Relations and Politics, University of Sussex

• Contents
  
• Preface
  
• INTRODUCTION
  
• 1 The Sociological Crime
  
• Social classification and genocide
  
• Studying genocide?
  
• Disciplining the study
  
• Sociology and the sociological crime
  
• Revisiting concepts and classification
  
• PART ONE
  
• THE CONTRADICTIONS OF GENOCIDE THEORY
  
• 2 Neglected Foundations
  
• Genocide as social destruction and its connections with war
  
• Lemkin's sociological framework
  
• Genocide and the laws of war
  
• Separation of genocide from war
  
• Narrowing genocide to physical destruction
  
• A new definition
  
• 3 The Maximal Standard
  
• The significance of the Holocaust
  
• Holocaust ‘uniqueness’
  
• The Holocaust standard in comparative study
  
• Holocausts and genocides
  
• 4 The Minimal Euphemism
  
• The substitution of 'ethnic cleansing' for genocide
  
• Origins of 'cleansing' terminology
  
• 'Cleansing' and genocide
  
• 'Non-genocidal' expulsions: the case of the Germans
  
• Connections between post-war 'cleansing' and the Holocaust
  
• Peaceful, legal 'transfers' and 'exchanges'?
  
• The territorial dimension
  
• 5 Conceptual Proliferation
  
• The many 'cides' of genocide
  
• New frameworks: murderous cleansing and democide
  
• Ethnocide and cultural genocide
  
• Gendercide
  
• Politicide
  
• Classicide
  
• Urbicide
  
• Auto-genocide
  
• Genocide as a framework
  
• PART TWO
  
• THE SOCIOLOGY OF GENOCIDE
  
• 6 From Intentionality to a Structural Concept
  
• Social action, social relations and conflict
  
• Intention in the light of a sociology of action
  
• Limits of intentionality
  
• Social relations and a structure of conflict
  
• 7 Elements of Genocidal Conflict
  
• Social groups, destruction and war
  
• Social groups in genocide
  
• The destruction of groups
  
• Genocide as war
  
• 8 The Missing Concept of Genocide Studies
  
• The civilian category and its social meaning
  
• The civilian enemy
  
• Civilians in international law
  
• The social production of civilians
  
• Civilians, combatants and social stratification
  
• Civilian resistance and genocidal war
  
• 9 Explanations
  
• From modernity to warfare
  
• Types of genocide
  
• Modernity
  
• Culture and psychology
  
• Economy
  
• Politics
  
• Warfare
  
• Domestic and international
  
• 10 CONCLUSION
  
• The Relevance of Conceptual Analysis
  
• Genocide in 21st century politics
  
• New historic conditions for genocide?
  
• Contemporary challenge: the case of Darfur