The Four Conditions Of Genocide

Looking at these two cases, it seems that a genocidal regime can crop up in any country. After all, Hitler and the Nazi party came to power in a democratic system, while the Khmer Rouge proved that it is possible to take over a country by force. However, this is not the case. Comparative studies have been conducted between genocides of the twenty and twenty first century cases of genocide and four conditions have commonly been found to have been present. It has been proposed that if one of these conditions is present, genocide occurring is a possibility. If all four conditions are present and genocide occurs, it will be extremely deadly. The first condition is the presence of group hate which has been provoked by politicians or those in economically …show more content…
The third condition is the presence of war, particularly civil war or a settler war, which Anderson and Anderson define as “[a] conflict in which an immigrant or invading group takes over land from a usually smaller and weaker local group.” The fourth and last condition is when an insecure but totalitarian government feels threatened. The chance of genocide is almost at 100 percent if a new government seizes power while spreading extremist ideologies and uses this ideology to urge its supporters into a civil war. While the first three are not necessarily indicative of an impending genocide, they have all been found to help set up the ideal conditions for genocide to occur. The fourth, however, is by itself enough of a reason for genocide to transpire. There are other factors that, while not absolute indicators of genocide, would suggest caution if they are present. One is if a country has a history of genocide. This does not apply directly to the country, but rather, focuses on government leaders and political party. If those that perpetrated genocide once again come to power, the country is at …show more content…
Through various studies, it has been made relatively clear what kind of political regimes can lead to genocide, therefore, it should be easy enough to recognize when a country is at risk and intervene, instead of leaving a totalitarian government to murder its own people. In the case of Germany, doing so was detrimental not only to the German people, but also to millions of others all around the world. The Cambodian case is a clear example of just how extreme of measures a political regime will take to shape the country to fit their vision. Both are excellent examples of why sovereignty, an indisputable part of international politics, should not be placed above human life. If diplomatic intervention is necessary, it should be acceptable and expected for multiple, powerful countries to cooperate through international organizations, such as the United Nations, to stop genocidal regimes either before they begin or before the reach the points that Cambodia and Germany did. By focusing more on the value of human life and the need to preserve it, genocide should become a relic of the past, continuously studied so that it can remain in the