Genocide and crimes against humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Genocide and crimes against humanity - Essay Example Considering all the case studies that he uses throughout his book Eric Weitz, highlights that although each of the cases has its own ‘particularities’ yet, all ‘display some notably common features’. Eric Weitz discussion concentrates on four different genocide cases, which includes the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin, Nazi Germany, Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge and the final case, which is the Former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. The author of this established literature applies comparative methodology to the study of genocide. In looking at the Nazis case, Weitz leaves the reader with having to accept the notion that the author concludes the chapter with avoiding the ideology of whether he places his account on an intentionalist or a functionalist perspective. Weitz cleverly manages to do this through providing a compelling narrative that balances the role of the ideology and the circumstances in that particular case. However, from reading the fourth chapt er, which details the genocide in Cambodia, the author stands at a more modern functionalist account. This is evident by the way Eric blames the French interventionism, providing few of the Khmer Rouge leaders including Pol Pot ... and states how these in particular were fortunate to be able to get the western education of which gave them the position in the communism, stating that they were born in the society that already functions like that. The author tends to rely on the race and nation to emphasize on the discussion of genocide. A Century of Genocide uses UN convention to define the term Genocide. This chapter is excellent in terms of where it covers real situation of which in turn gives the reader the ability to understand different perspectives from real situations as a appose to only write what happened without using real life characters or situations. The author successfully manages to apprehend the reader on continuing to read through using quotations from other historian s, political actors, eyewitnesses and the use of poems. Unfortunately the author fails on many accounts on making his overall book of a first authors’ establishment, he misses the opportunity on expanding the alternative methodologies of research and rather heavily concentrates on the secondary research. Thus, making ‘A Century of Genocide’ provide very little new evidence or self-interpretation of the genocide events. Having to lack in his primary research the author misses out other crucial genocide regimes including the Rwanda case. Weitz acknowledges in his introduction that throughout his 5 chapters he presents very limited primary research. Critical bibliography 2: Benjamin A. Valentino, Final Solutions: Mass Killings and Genocide in the 20th Century. – Modern intentionalist Benjamin A., Valentino an associate Professor of Government and an author of Final Solutions: Mass killings and Genocide in the 20th Century, discusses in his well-established bo ok, the different genocide regimes that occurred during the 20th century, focusing on three types of mass killings, including the communist mass killings, ethnic genocide and the â€Å"counter-guerrilla† mass killing. Valentino, focuses on particular case studies representing each type of genocide, highlighting the mass killing in Cambodia, China and the