The Killing Trap: Genocide in the Twentieth Century

Manus I. Midlarsky

Oct 2005 · Cambridge University Press

About this ebook

The Killing Trap offers a comparative analysis of the genocides, politicides and ethnic cleansings of the twentieth century, which are estimated to have cost upwards of forty million lives. The book seeks to understand both the occurrence and magnitude of genocide, based on the conviction that such comparative analysis may contribute towards prevention of genocide in the future. Manus Midlarsky compares socio-economic circumstances and international contexts and includes in his analysis the Jews of Europe, Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Tutsi in Rwanda, black Africans in Darfur, Cambodians, Bosnians, and the victims of conflict in Ireland. The occurrence of genocide is explained by means of a framework that gives equal emphasis to the non-occurrence of genocide, a critical element not found in other comparisons, and victims are given a prominence equal to that of perpetrators in understanding the magnitude of genocide.

About the author

Manus I. Midlarsky is the Moses and Annuta Back Professor of International Peace and Conflict Resolution at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He has authored or edited eleven books and 65 articles and book chapters. His publications include The Evolution of Inequality: War, State Survival, and Democracy in Comparative Perspectives and the edited volumes Inequality, Democracy, and Economic Development (Cambridge, 1997), and the Handbook of War Studies II.