Genocide

The aim of this learning project (or set of projects) is to study the social psychology of human beings in the context of genocide, including its causes, consequences, and what can be done to prevent or minimise mass killing of human ethnic groups by other human groups.

Nyamata Memorial Site, skulls. Nyamata, Rwanda.

Completion status: this resource is a stub, so not much has been done yet.

What is genocide?

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According to the Oxford dictionary genocide is the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.

Socio-psychological factors

Add more socio-psychological factors which are involved in and particularly which contribute to genocide. If one interests you, then write some more here (or on the linked pages) about it and how it connects with genocide:

• Conflict
• Conformity
• Crisis / Catalyst
• Culture
• Dehumanisation
• Deindividuation
• Disenfranchisement
• Ethnicity
• History
• Leadership
• Group polarisation
• Nationalism
• Propaganda
• Social categorisation
• Weapons effect

Stages of genocide

One way of understanding how and why genocide occurs is to view it as evolving through a series of socio-cultural stages. Add a table of these here for further discussion and consideration (the table can be copied from the Wikipedia link below).

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This section is a stub. You can help Wikiversity by expanding it.

• Stages of genocide and efforts to prevent it (Wikipedia)

See also

• Rwandan Genocide
• Genocide (Wikipedia)

References

1. Baum, S. K. (2004). A bell curve of hate? Journal of Genocide Research, 6, 567-577.
2. Staub, E. (2006). Reconciliation after genocide, mass killing, or intractable conflict: Understanding the roots of violence, psychological recovery, and steps toward a general theory. Political Psychology, 27, 867-894.
3. Woolf, L. M. & Hulsizer, M. R. (2005). Psychosocial roots of genocide: Risk, prevention, and intervention. Journal of Genocide Research, 7, 101-128.