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The Encyclopedia of Genocide and Crimes against Humanity spans the globe to explain the issues behind crimes against humanity and human rights issues as they relate to individual countries and the world at large. It traces the history of events that qualify as genocide and crimes against humanity, profiles perpetrators and heroes, and explains international laws and law proceedings aimed at ending genocide and crimes against humanity at specific groups or at least punishing those who have committed such crimes.

This new book--the first global history of genocide and extermination from ancient times--is among his most important achievements.   Kiernan examines outbreaks of mass violence from the classical era to the present, focusing on worldwide colonial exterminations and twentieth-century case studies including the Armenian genocide, the Nazi Holocaust, Stalin’s mass murders, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides. He identifies connections, patterns, and features that in nearly every case gave early warning of the catastrophe to come.

Norman Naimark, distinguished historian of Europe and Russia, provides an insightful history of ethnic cleansing and its relationship to genocide and population transfer. Focusing on five specific cases, he exposes the myths about ethnic cleansing, in particular the commonly held belief that the practice stems from ancient hatreds. Naimark shows that this face of genocide had its roots in the European nationalism of the late nineteenth century but found its most virulent expression in the twentieth century as modern states and societies began to organize themselves by ethnic criteria.

Both concise and wide-ranging, this encyclopedia covers massacres, atrocities, war crimes, and genocides, including acts of inhumanity on all continents; and serves as a reminder that lest we forget, history will repeat itself. * Provides coverage of atrocities, massacres, and war crimes that is wide-ranging in scope and historical perspective, covering everything from genocides to isolated actions that constituted grave breaches of the laws of war. Comprises contributions from over 200 scholars, including international law experts currently prosecuting war crimes. Contains a lengthy chronology of major atrocities throughout history.