Mass killing explained

Mass killing is a concept which has been proposed by genocide scholars who wish to define incidents of non-combat killing which are perpetrated by a government or a state. A mass killing is commonly defined as the killing of group members without the intention to eliminate the whole group, or otherwise the killing of large numbers of people without a clear group membership.

Mass killing is used by a number of genocide scholars because genocide (its strict definition) does not cover mass killing events in which no specific ethnic or religious groups are targeted, or events in which perpetrators do not intend to eliminate whole groups or significant parts of them. Genocide scholars use different models in order to explain and predict the onset of mass killing events. There has been little consensus and no generally-accepted terminology, prompting scholars, such as Anton Weiss-Wendt, to describe comparative attempts a failure. Genocide scholarship rarely appears in mainstream disciplinary journals.

Terminology

Several different terms are used to describe the intentional killing of large numbers of noncombatants, but there is no consensus or generally-accepted terminology. Mass killing has emerged as a "more straightforward" term than genocide or politicide. Mass killing was proposed by genocide scholars in attempts to collect a uniform global database of genocidal events and identify statistical models for prediction of onset of mass killings. Atsushi Tago and Frank Wayman reference mass killing as defined by Valentino and state that even with a lower threshold (10,000 killed per year, 1,000 killed per year, or even 1), "autocratic regimes, especially communist, are prone to mass killing generically, but not so strongly inclined (i.e. not statistically significantly inclined) toward geno-politicide." Other terms used by several authors to describe mass killings of non-combattents include:

• Classicide – "intended mass killing of entire social classes", which sociologist Michael Mann considers more apt than genocide for describing killings with the intent of suppression of the bourgeoisie in communist states.
• Gendercide – the systematic killing of members of a specific gender. ^[1]
• Democide – political scientist Rudolph Rummel defined democide as "the intentional killing of an unarmed or disarmed person by government agents acting in their authoritative capacity and pursuant to government policy or high command"; according to Rummel, this definition covers a wide range of deaths, including forced labor and concentration camp victims, killings by unofficial private groups, extrajudicial summary killings and mass deaths in deliberate famines as well as killings by de facto governments, e.g. civil war killings. Rummel's democide concept is similar to geno-politicide, but there are two important differences. First, an important prerequisite for geno-politicide is government's intent to destroy a specific group. In contrast, democide deals with wider range of cases, including the cases when governments are engaged in random killing either directly or due to the acts of criminal omission and neglect. Second, whereas some lower threshold exists for a killing event to be considered geno-politicide, there is no low threshold for democide which covers any murder of any number of persons by any government.
• Genocide – under the Genocide Convention, the crime of genocide generally applies to mass murder of ethnic rather than political or social groups. Protection of political groups was eliminated from the United Nations resolution after a second vote because many states anticipated that clause to apply unneeded limitations to their right to suppress internal disturbances. Genocide is also a popular term for political killings which are studied academically as democide and politicide.
• Mass killing – referencing earlier definitions, Joan Esteban, Massimo Morelli, and Dominic Rohner define mass killings as "the killings of substantial numbers of human beings, when not in the course of military action against the military forces of an avowed enemy, under the conditions of the essential defenselessness and helplessness of the victims." Valentino defines the term as "the intentional killing of a massive number of noncombatants", where a "massive number" is at least 50,000 intentional deaths over the course of five years or less; this is the most accepted quantitative minimum threshold for the term.
• Politicide – some genocide scholars propose the concept of politicide to describe the killing of groups that would not otherwise be covered by the Genocide Convention. Barbara Harff studies genocide and politicide, sometimes shortened as geno-politicide, to include the mass killing of political, economic, ethnic, and cultural groups.

In the United States, the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012, passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, clarified the statutory authority for federal law enforcement agencies to provide investigatory assistance to the States, and mandated across federal agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security, a definition of "mass killing" as three or more killings during an incident, while making no reference to the choice of weapon.^{[2] [3] [4] [5]}

Topology

Benjamin Valentino outlines two major categories of mass killings: dispossessive mass killing and coercive mass killing. The first category defines three types: communist, ethnic, and territorial, containing the following scenarios of ethnic cleansing, killings that accompany agrarian reforms in some Communist states, and killings during colonial expansion, among others. The second category includes the types: counterguerrilla, terrorist, and imperialist, containing the following scenarios of killing during counterinsurgent warfare, and killings as part of the imperialist conquests by the Axis powers during the World War II, among others.

Topology of mass killings as defined by Valentino, 2003

Type	Scenario	Examples
	Dispossessive mass killing
Communist	Agricultural collectivization and political terror	The Holodomor (1931–1933) Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) Cambodian genocide (1975–1979)
Fascist	Political terror and ethnic cleansing	Spanish White Terror (1936–1975) The Holocaust (1939–1945) Argentine Dirty War (1974–1983)
Ethnic	Ethnic cleansing	Turkish Armenia (1915–1918) The Holocaust (1939–1945) Rwandan genocide (1994)
Territorial	Colonial enlargement	American Indian Wars (15th–20th centuries) Genocide of the Herero in German South-West Africa (1904–1907)
	Expansionist wars	German annexation of western Poland (1939–1945) Genocide of the Herero in German South-West Africa (1904–1907)
	Coercive mass killing
Counterguerrilla	Guerrilla wars	Algerian war of independence from France (1954–1962) Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (1979–1989) Ethiopian civil war (1970s–1980s)
Terrorist	Terror bombing	Allied bombings of Germany and Japan (1940–1945) The Blitz (1940–1941)
	Starvation blockades/siege warfare	Allied naval blockade of Germany (1914–1919) Nigerian land blockade Biafra (1967–1970)
	Sub-state/insurgent terrorism	FLN terrorism in Algerian war of independence against France (1954–1962) RENAMO terrorism in Mozambique (1976–1992) AUC terrorism in Colombia (1997–2008)
Imperialist	Imperial conquests and rebellions	German occupation of Western Europe (1940–1945) Japan's empire in East Asia (1910–1945)

Analysis

Benjamin Valentino does not consider ideology or regime-type as an important factor that explains mass killings, and outlines Communist mass killing as a subtype of dispossessive mass killing, which is considered as a complication of original theory his book is based on. About why it occurs, Valentino states that ideology, paranoia, and racism can shape leaders' beliefs for why genocide and mass killing may be justified. Unlike Rudolph Rummel and first-generation studies, Valentino does not see authoritarianism or totalitarianism as explaining mass killing; it is not ideology or regime-type but the leader's motive that matters and can explain it, which is in line with second-generation scholarship.

Manus Midlarsky also focuses on leaders' decision making but his case selection and general conclusions are different from Valentino's. Midlarsky has a more narrower definition of the dependent variable and only analyzes three case studies (the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and the Rwanda genocide). Midlarsky tries to explain why individuals may comply with the culprits, why politicide rather than genocide happened in Cambodia (Cambodian genocide), and why ethnic minorities, such as Greeks in the Ottoman Empire and Jews in the Second Polish Republic, were not targeted for genocide. Like Michael Mann and Valentino to a lesser extent, Midlarsky mainly addresses genocides that did not take place. Both Midlarsky and Valentino mainly focus on proximate conditions, while Mann considers genocide within the broad context of ideologies and nation-states development.

Global databases of mass killings

At least two global databases of mass killings are available. The first compilation by Rudolph Rummel covers a time period from the beginning of the 20th century until 1987 covering democide, while the second compilation by Barbara Harff combines politicide and genocide since 1955. The Harff database is the most frequently used by genocide scholars, while the Rummel database is a good framework for studying mass killings during the 1900–1987 period.

These data are intended mostly for statistical analysis of mass killings in attempt to identify the best predictors for their onset. According to Harff, these data are not necessarily the most accurate for a given country, since some sources are general genocide scholars and not experts on local history. A comparative analysis of the Yugoslav data in two databases revealed a significant difference between the figures of killed per years and low correlation between Rummel's and Harff's data sets. Tomislav Dulić criticized Rummel's generally higher numbers as arising from flaws in Rummel's statistical methodology, and Rummel's response was not convincing.

Another comparative analysis of the two complete databases by Atsushi Tago and Frank W. Wayman revealed that the significant difference between the figures is explained by Harff's dataset of politicide-geoncide being essentially a subset of Rummel's dataset, where he includes other types of killings in addition to politicide-genocide.

+ Genocides and politicides from 1955 to 2001 as listed by Harff, 2003
Country	data-sort-type="date"	Start	data-sort-type="date"	End	Nature of episode	number of victims	Related articles
Sudan	October 1956	March 1972	Politicide with communal victims	400,000–600,000	First Sudanese Civil War
South Vietnam	January 1965	April 1975	Politicide	400,000–500,000	South Vietnam
China	March 1959		Genocide and politicide	65,000	1959 Tibetan uprising
Iraq	June 1963	March 1975	Politicide with communal victims	30,000–60,000	Ba'athist Iraq
Algeria	July 1962	December 1962	Politicide	9,000–30,000
Rwanda	December 1963	June 1964	Politicide with communal victims	12,000–20,000
Congo-Kinshasa	February 1964	January 1965	Politicide	1,000–10,000
Burundi	October 1965	December 1973	Politicide with communal victims	140,000
Indonesia	November 1965	July 1966	Genocide and politicide	500,000–1,000,000	Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966
China	May 1966	March 1975	Politicide	400,000–850,000	Cultural Revolution
Guatemala	July 1978	December 1996	Politicide and genocide	60,000–200,000	Guatemalan genocide
Pakistan	March 1971	December 1971	Genocide and politicide	2,000,000–3,000,000	1971 Bangladesh genocide
Uganda	December 1972	April 1979	Politicide and genocide	50,000–400,000	Genocides in central Africa
Philippines	September 1972	June 1976	Politicide with communal victims	60,000
Pakistan	February 1973	July 1977	Politicide with communal victims	5,000–10,000
Chile		December 1976	Politicide	5,000–10,000
Angola	November 1975	2001		500,000
Cambodia	April 1975	January 1979	Politicide and genocide	1,900,000–3,500,000	Cambodian genocide
Indonesia	December 1975	July 1992	Politicide with communal victims	100,000–200,000
Argentina	March 1976	December 1980	Politicide	9,000–20,000
Ethiopia	July 1976	December 1979	Politicide	10,000
Congo-Kinshasa	March 1977	December 1979	Politicide with communal victims	3,000–4,000
Afghanistan	April 1978	April 1992	Politicide	1,800,000	Afghanistan conflict (1978–present)
Burma	January 1978	December 1978	Genocide	5,000
El. Salvador	January 1980	December 1989	Politicide	40,000–60,000
Uganda	December 1980	January 1986	Politicide and genocide	200,000–500,000	Genocides in central Africa
Syria	March 1981	February 1982	Politicide	5,000–30,000
Iran	June 1981	December 1992	Politicide and genocide	10,000–20,000	Casualties of the Iranian Revolution
Sudan	September 1983	?	Politicide with communal victims	2,000,000
Iraq	March 1988	June 1991	Politicide with communal victims	180,000
Somalia	May 1988	January 1991	Politicide with communal victims	15,000–50,000
Burundi	1988	1988	Genocide	5,000–20,000	Hutu massacres of 1988
Sri Lanka	September 1989	January 1990	Politicide	13,000–30,000
Bosnia	May 1992	November 1995	Genocide	225,000	Bosnian genocide
Burundi	October 1993	May 1994	Genocide	50,000	Burundian genocides
Rwanda	April 1994	July 1994	Genocide	500,000–1,000,000	Rwandan genocide
China	1949 - 1976	?	Genocide - Politicide	45,000,000
Serbia	December 1998	July 1999	Politicide with communal victims	10,000

See also

See main article: Outline of genocide studies.

• Mass murder
• List of battles by casualties
• List of genocides by death toll
• Mass killings under communist regimes
• Genocide of indigenous peoples
• Anti-communist mass killings

Bibliography

See main article: Bibliography of Genocide studies.

• Tago . Atsushi . Wayman . Frank . January 2010 . Explaining the Onset of Mass Killing, 1949–87 . Journal of Peace Research . Thousand Oaks, California . SAGE Publications . 47 . 1 . 3–13 . 10.1177/0022343309342944 . 0022-3433 . 25654524 . 145155872.
• Bach-Lindsday . Dylan . Huth . Paul . Valentino . Benjamin . May 2004 . Draining the Sea: Mass Killing and Guerrilla Warfare . International Organization . Cambridge, England . Cambridge University Press . 58 . 2 . 375–407 . 10.1017/S0020818304582061 . 3877862 . 154296897.
• Book: Charny . Israel W. . 2000 . Encyclopedia of Genocide . 1st . Santa Barbara, California . ABC-CLIO . 978-0-874-36928-1.
• Book: Curthoys . Ann . Docker . John . 2008 . Defining Genocide . Stone . Dan . The Historiography of Genocide . paperback . Basingstoke, England . Palgrave Macmillan UK . 7–41 . 978-0-230-27955-1.
• Dulić . Tomislav . January 2004 . Tito's Slaughterhouse: A Critical Analysis of Rummel's Work on Democide . Journal of Peace Research . Thousands Oaks, California . SAGE Publications . 41 . 1 . 85‒102 . 10.1177/0022343304040051 . 4149657 . 145120734.
• Easterly . William . Gatti . Roberta . Roberta Gatti . Kurlat . Sergio . June 2006 . Development, Democracy, and Mass Killings . Journal of Economic Growth . 11 . New York City, New York . Springer . 2 . 129–156 . 10.1007/s10887-006-9001-z . 40216091 . 195313778 .
• Esteban . Joan Maria . Morelli . Massimo . Rohner . Dominic . May 2010 . Strategic Mass Killings . Zurich Switzerland . Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich . Working Paper No. 486 . 1615375.
• Book: Gleditish . N. P. . 2017 . R.J. Rummel: An Assessment of His Many Contributions . 37 . SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice . New York City, New York . Springer . 978-3-319-54463-2.
• Gurr . Ted Robert . Harff . Barbara . September 1988 . Toward Empirical Theory of Genocides and Politicides: Identification and Measurement of Cases since 1945 . International Studies Quarterly . Hoboken, New Jersey . Wiley . 32 . 3 . 359–371 . 10.2307/2600447 . 0020-8833 . 2600447.
• Harff . Barbara . Summer 1996 . Review: Death by Government by R. J. Rummel . The Journal of Interdisciplinary History . Cambridge, Massachusetts . The MIT Press . 27 . 1 . 117–119 . 10.2307/206491 . 206491.
• Harff . Barbara . February 2003 . No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risks of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955 . The American Political Science Review . Washington, D.C. . American Political Science Association . 97 . 1 . 57–73 . 10.1017/S0003055403000522 . 3118221 . 54804182.
• Book: Harff, Barbara . 2017 . The Comparative Analysis of Mass Atrocities and Genocide . Gleditish . N. P. . R.J. Rummel: An Assessment of His Many Contributions . 37 . SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice . New York City, New York . Springer . 111–129 . 10.1007/978-3-319-54463-2_12 . free . 978-3-319-54463-2.
• Book: Jones, Adam . 2010 . Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction . English paperback 2nd . London, England . Routledge . 978-0-415-48619-4.
• Krain . Matthew . June 1997 . State-Sponsored Mass Murder: The Onset and Severity of Genocides and Politicides . Journal of Conflict Resolution . Thousand Oaks, California . SAGE Publications . 41 . 3 . 331–360 . 10.1177/0022002797041003001 . 0022-0027 . 174282 . 143852782.
• Book: Mann, Michael . 2005 . The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing . English paperback . Cambridge, England . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-53854-1.
• Book: Ott, Attiat . 2011 . Modeling Mass Killing: For Gain or Ethnic Cleansing? . Hartley . Keith . Handbook on the Economics of Conflict . Cheltenham, England . Edward Elgar Publishing . 52–79 . 978-0-857-93034-7.
• Schaak . Beth . May 1997 . The Crime of Political Genocide: Repairing the Genocide Convention's Blind Spot . The Yale Law Journal . 106 . 7 . 2259‒2291 . 10.2307/797169 . 797169 .
• Book: Sémelin, Jacques . Hoffman, Stanley . 2007 . Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide . The CERI Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies . Schoch . Cynthia . New York City, New York . Columbia University Press . 978-0-231-14282-3 . .
• Book: Staub, Ervin . 1989 . The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence . illustrated, reprinted, revised paperback . Cambridge, England . Cambridge University Press . 978-0-521-42214-7.
• Book: Staub, Ervin . 2011 . Overcoming Evil: Genocide, Violent Conflict, and Terrorism . illustrated, reprinted hardback . Oxford, England . Oxford University Press . 978-0-195-38204-4.
• Book: Stone . Dan . 2008 . The Historiography of Genocide . paperback . Basingstoke, England . Palgrave Macmillan . 978-0-230-27955-1.
• Straus . Scott . April 2007 . Review: Second-Generation Comparative Research on Genocide . World Politics . Cambridge, England . Cambridge University Press . 59 . 3 . 476–501 . 10.1017/S004388710002089X . 40060166 . 144879341.
• Book: Valentino . Benjamin . 2004 . Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century . hardback . Ithaca, New York . Cornell University Press . 978-0-801-43965-0 . 53013098.
• Verdeja . Ernesto . June 2012 . The Political Science of Genocide: Outlines of an Emerging Research Agenda . Perspectives on Politics . Washington, D.C. . American Political Science Association . 10 . 2 . 307–321 . 10.1017/S1537592712000680 . 41479553 . 145170749.
• Book: Weiss-Wendt, Anton . 2008 . Problems in Comparative Genocide Scholarship . Stone . Dan . The Historiography of Genocide . paperback . Basingstoke, England . Palgrave Macmillan . 42–70 . 978-0-230-27955-1 . 10.1057/9780230297784.

Further reading

See main article: Bibliography of Genocide studies.

• Esteban. Joan Maria. Morelli. Massimo. Rohner. Dominic. October 2015. Strategic Mass Killings. Chicago, Illinois. University of Chicago Press. Journal of Political Economy. 123. 5. 1087–1132. 10.1086/682584. 154859371.
• Book: Schaak, Beth. 2007. The Crime of Political Genocide: Repairing the Genocide Convention's Blind Spot. Campbell. Tom. Lattimer. Mark. Genocide and Human Rights. 1st eBook. London, England. Routledge. 140–173. 10.4324/9781351157568. 978-1-351-15756-8.
• Book: Schabas, William A.. 2009. Genocide in International Law: The Crime of Crimes. 2nd hardcover. Cambridge, England. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-71900-1.
• Book: Sémelin, Jacques. Hoffman, Stanley. 2007. The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide. Purify and Destroy: The Political Uses of Massacre and Genocide. The CERI Series in Comparative Politics and International Studies. Schoch. Cynthia. New York City, New York. Columbia University Press. 310–361. 978-0-231-14282-3.

External links

• Easterly . William . Gatti . Roberta . Roberta Gatti . Kurlat . Sergio . June 2006 . Development, Democracy, and Mass Killings . live . Journal of Economic Growth . 11 . New York City, New York . Springer . 2 . 129–156 . 10.1007/s10887-006-9001-z . 40216091 . 195313778 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211201013928/https://williameasterly.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/46_easterly_gatti_kurlat_developmentdemocracymasskillings_prp.pdf . 1 December 2021 . 27 December 2021 . William Easterly . no.
• Web site: Harff. Barbara. 2003. Genocide Politicide. dead. CIDCM. Center for International Development and Conflict Management. https://web.archive.org/web/20071030201259/http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/genocide/. 30 October 2007. 27 December 2021. no.
• Harff. Barbara. February 2003. No Lessons Learned from the Holocaust? Assessing Risks of Genocide and Political Mass Murder since 1955. live. The American Political Science Review. Washington, D.C.. American Political Science Association. 97. 1. 57–73. 10.1017/S0003055403000522. 3118221. 54804182. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625140141/http://www.genocidewatch.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Genocide-politicide.pdf. 25 June 2021. 27 December 2021. Genocide Watch. no.
• Book: Harff, Barbara. 2017. https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-54463-2_12.pdf. live. The Comparative Analysis of Mass Atrocities and Genocide. Gleditish. N. P.. R.J. Rummel: An Assessment of His Many Contributions. 37. SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice. New York City, New York. Springer. 111–129. 10.1007/978-3-319-54463-2_12. free. 978-3-319-54463-2. https://web.archive.org/web/20211126183601/https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-54463-2_12.pdf. 26 November 2021. 27 December 2021. no.
• Book: Rummel, Rudolph. 2003. 1997. Statistic of Democide: Genocide and Mass Murder Since 1900. live. hardback. Charlottesville, Virginia. Center for National Security Law, School of Law, University of Virginia; Transaction Publishers, Rutgers University. 978-3-825-84010-5. https://web.archive.org/web/20211222233242/http://hawaii.edu/powerkills/NOTE5.HTM. 22 December 2021. 27 December 2021. Power Kills. no.
• Rummel. Rudolph. January 2004. One-Thirteenth of a Data Point Does Not a Generalization Make: A Response to Dulić*. Journal of Peace Research. Thousand Oaks, California. Sage Publications. 41. 1. 103–104. 10.1177/0022343304040500. 10.1.1.989.5581. 109403016.
• Schaak. Beth. May 1997. The Crime of Political Genocide: Repairing the Genocide Convention's Blind Spot. live. The Yale Law Journal. 106. 7. 2259‒2291. 10.2307/797169. 797169. https://web.archive.org/web/20200927004043/https://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7764&context=ylj. 27 September 2020. 27 December 2021. Digital Commons. no.
• Verdeja. Ernesto. June 2012. The Political Science of Genocide: Outlines of an Emerging Research Agenda. live. Perspectives on Politics. Washington, D.C.. American Political Science Association. 10. 2. 307–321. 10.1017/S1537592712000680. 41479553. 145170749. https://web.archive.org/web/20210824130418/https://www.proquest.com/docview/1016173088. 24 August 2021. 27 December 2021. . ProQuest. no.

Notes and References

1. La Puma . John . 1987-05-01 . Gendercide: The Implications of Sex Selection . JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association . 257 . 17 . 2362 . 10.1001/jama.1987.03390170118043 . 0098-7484.
2. Krouse . William J. . Richardson . Daniel J. . Mass Murder with Firearms: Incidents and Victims, 1999–2013. . July 30, 2015 . 26.
3. Booty . Marisa . O'Dwyer . Jayne . Webster . Daniel . Alex . McCourt . Cassandra . Crifasi . Describing a "mass shooting": the role of databases in understanding burden . Injury Epidemiology . 6 . 47 . 2019 . 47 . 10.1186/s40621-019-0226-7 . 31828004 . 6889601 . free .
4. News: Michelle . Ye Hee Lee . Michelle Ye Hee Lee . December 3, 2015 . Obama's inconsistent claim on the 'frequency' of mass shootings in the U.S. compared to other countries . . April 9, 2021 . March 5, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210305235633/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/12/03/obamas-inconsistent-claim-on-the-frequency-of-mass-shootings-in-the-u-s-compared-to-other-countries/. live.
5. News: Spa killings another grisly chapter in Georgia history . . Mandi . Albright . March 17, 2021.