SOCJ 313: Politics of Genocide

Course Description

In this course, we examine the sad phenomenon of genocide from two distinct perspectives in our discipline: comparative politics and international relations. In the beginning of the course, we look inside the state to get an idea of the social, economic and political situations that make a state more susceptible to genocide and see if there are indicators common to most genocides. The second part of the course examines several genocides in detail. In the final section of the course, we attempt to figure out why preventing and punishing genocide and other crimes against humanity is so difficult, and evaluate the methods used for prosecution and punishment to date. Cross-listed: POLI SCI 313/SOC JUST 313.