Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide

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Hurst, 2007 - 443 pages
Based on the distinction between massacre and genocide, this book identifies the main steps of a general process of destruction, rational and irrational, responding to fears, resentments and utopias, and more. It compares the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Hercegovina while respecting the specificities of each.

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About the author (2007)

Jacques Semelin is Professor of Political Science and Research Director at CERI-CNRS, Paris, France.

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