Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide by Semelin, Jacques
Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide by Semelin, Jacques

Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide

How can we comprehend the sociopolitical processes that give rise to extreme violence, ethnic cleansing, or genocide?...
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
SKU: 9780231142830
Product Type: Books
Please hurry! Only 0 left in stock
Author: Jacques Semelin
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Subtotal: BD$85.09
10 customers are viewing this product
Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide by Semelin, Jacques

Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide

BD$85.09
Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide by Semelin, Jacques

Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide

BD$85.09
Author: Jacques Semelin
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Description

How can we comprehend the sociopolitical processes that give rise to extreme violence, ethnic cleansing, or genocide? A major breakthrough in comparative analysis, Purify and Destroy demonstrates that it is indeed possible to compare the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Herzegovina while respecting the specificities of each appalling phenomenon. Jacques Semelin achieves this, in part, by leading his readers through the three examples simultaneously, the unraveling of which sometimes converges but most often diverges.

Semelin's method is multidisciplinary, relying not only on contemporary history but also on social psychology and political science. Based on the seminal distinction between massacre and genocide, Purify and Destroy identifies the main steps of a general process of destruction, both rational and irrational, born of what Semelin terms "delusional rationality." He describes a dynamic structural model with, at its core, the matrix of a social imaginaire that, responding to fears, resentments, and utopias, carves and recarves the social body by eliminating "the enemy." Semelin identifies the main stages that can lead to a genocidal process and explains how ordinary people can become perpetrators. He develops an intellectual framework to analyze the entire spectrum of mass violence, including terrorism, in the twentieth century and before. Strongly critical of today's political instrumentalization of the "genocide" notion, Semelin urges genocide research to stand back from legal and normative definitions and come of age as a discipline in its own right in the social sciences.

Author: Jacques Semelin
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Published: 03/02/2009
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.10h x 5.10w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780231142830

About the Author
Jacques Semelin is professor of political science and research director at CERI-CNRS in Paris. After having studied civil resistance within Nazi Europe, he developed comparative genocide research and is now exploring processes of reconciliation and prevention. His previously published book in English is Unarmed Against Hitler: Civil Resistance in Europe, 1939-1943, and he is founder of the Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence.
Shipping & Return

Returns Policy

You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.

Shipping

We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.

When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.

Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.

Review

Related Products

Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD
Example product title
BD$85.09 BMD
BD$85.09 BMD

Recently Viewed Products