Revisiting the heart of darkness – Explorations into genocide and other forms of mass violence

This Development Dialogue is published on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9th December 1948. On the basis of the normative framework created and more recently also applied in a few cases, the contributions seek to explore further the socio-historical and -political contexts of genocide and mass violence and test the common approaches against analyses of social realities as well as theories. The historical dimension is of significance to many of the chapters. These are based on two conferences held in Uppsala in December 2006 and Voksenåsen/Oslo in November 2007, presenting scholarly as well as politically and morally guided forms of engagement. This blend seeks to acknowledge the need to unite differently posed concerns and appeals in their common efforts to examine further the notion of genocide (as well as its limitations), with the aim of reducing the risks of history repeating itself.

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Title of article Author	View Download
Introduction Henning Melber
The history of mass violence since colonial times – Trying to understand the roots of a mindset Jacques Depelchin
Violence, legitimacy and dynamics of genocide – Notions of mass violence examined Reinhart Kössler
Contextualising violence in colonial Africa – European national development, empire and lineages of conflict Gerold Krozewski
Colonialism and genocide – Raphael Lemkin’s concept of genocide and its application to European rule in Africa Dominik Schaller
Colonialism and the holocaust – Towards an archeology of genocide Jürgen Zimmerer
Do we need an alternative to the concept of genocide? Anthony Court
Lineages of racism in genocidal contexts – Lessons from Hannah Arendt in contemporary African genocide scholarship Ulrike Kistner
Hotel Rwanda – The challenges of historicising and commercialising genocide Mohamed Adhikari
The makings and meanings of the massacres in Matabeleland Ian Phimister
Mass violence in Zimbabwe 2005 – Murambatsvina Mary E. Ndlovu
A luta continua! – South African HIV activism, embodiment and state politics Elina Oinas and Katarina Jungar
‘The unpredictable past and future of genocide’: A Genocide Dialogue Conference at Voksenåsen, Oslo, 16-17 November 2007 John Y. Jones
Colonialism, genocide and mass violence – integral parts of modernity Henning Melber
Behind most mass violence lurk economic interests Charles Aburge
Is there a south perspective on genocide? Alejandro Bendaña
Report from the panel debate on ‘What is Genocide?’ John Y. Jones
The Voksenåsen Statement
Biographical notes on authors