Politicide
Encyclopedia
Politicide has three related but distinct meanings. It can mean a gradual but systematic attempt to cause the annihilation of an independent political and social entity. For example the destruction of the apartheid
system in South Africa. Others have used the term to mean the deliberate physical destruction of a group who share the main characteristic of belonging to a political movement—this definition has been used because the systematic destruction of such groups are not covered as genocide
under the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
(CPPCG). CPPCG only covers the deliberate physical destruction of national, ethnic, racial and religious groups. A third use is noted by the Oxford English Dictionary
and describes political suicide by an action which irreparably damages a person's political career.
Israeli sociologist Baruch Kimmerling
uses the term in his book Politicide: Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians and his articles. He defines "the politicide of the Palestinian people, a gradual but systematic attempt to cause their annihilation as an independent political and social entity." This he believed has been present throughout Israel's confrontations with the Palestinians, but was epitomised by the thoughts and actions of Ariel Sharon
.
The social scientists Barbara Harff
and Ted R. Gurr use the term politicide to describe the killing of groups of people who are targeted not because of shared ethnic or communal traits (the types of groups covered by the CPPCG), but because of "their hierarchical position or political opposition to the regime and dominant groups".
An example of the use of politicide as an action which results in political suicide, was given in The Kansas City Star
on 23 February, 1996: "James didn't even finish his inaugural address before committing politicide."
Crime of apartheid
The crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other...
system in South Africa. Others have used the term to mean the deliberate physical destruction of a group who share the main characteristic of belonging to a political movement—this definition has been used because the systematic destruction of such groups are not covered as genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
under the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948 as General Assembly Resolution 260. The Convention entered into force on 12 January 1951. It defines genocide in legal terms, and is the culmination of...
(CPPCG). CPPCG only covers the deliberate physical destruction of national, ethnic, racial and religious groups. A third use is noted by the Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
and describes political suicide by an action which irreparably damages a person's political career.
Israeli sociologist Baruch Kimmerling
Baruch Kimmerling
Baruch Kimmerling was an Israeli scholar and professor of sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Upon his death in 2007, The Times described him as "the first academic to use scholarship to reexamine the founding tenets of Zionism and the Israeli State"...
uses the term in his book Politicide: Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians and his articles. He defines "the politicide of the Palestinian people, a gradual but systematic attempt to cause their annihilation as an independent political and social entity." This he believed has been present throughout Israel's confrontations with the Palestinians, but was epitomised by the thoughts and actions of Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon
Ariel Sharon is an Israeli statesman and retired general, who served as Israel’s 11th Prime Minister. He has been in a permanent vegetative state since suffering a stroke on 4 January 2006....
.
The social scientists Barbara Harff
Barbara Harff
Barbara Harff is Professor of Political Science Emerita at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. In 2003 and again in 2005 she was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Clark University...
and Ted R. Gurr use the term politicide to describe the killing of groups of people who are targeted not because of shared ethnic or communal traits (the types of groups covered by the CPPCG), but because of "their hierarchical position or political opposition to the regime and dominant groups".
An example of the use of politicide as an action which results in political suicide, was given in The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
on 23 February, 1996: "James didn't even finish his inaugural address before committing politicide."
See also
- PolicidePolicidePolicide is a neologism used in political science to describe the intentional destruction of a city or nation.-Origin:Writer Michael Walzer credits the origin of the term "policide" to Abba Eban, Israel's foreign minister in 1967.Similarly, professor Steve J...
- Crime against humanityCrime against humanityCrimes against humanity, as defined by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Explanatory Memorandum, "are particularly odious offenses in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings...
- Anti-communist mass killingsAnti-communist mass killingsAnti-communist mass killings refer to the political mass murder of communists, alleged communists, other leftists, or their supporters by right-wing, reactionary regimes.-Dirty War:...
- Mass killings under Communist regimes
- Hundred Flowers CampaignHundred Flowers CampaignThe Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement, refers mainly to a brief six weeks in the People's Republic of China in the early summer of 1957 during which the Communist Party of China encouraged a variety of views and solutions to national policy issues, launched...
Further reading
- Harff, Barbara. Genocide Politicide, Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research (INSCR), University of MarylandUniversity of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...