My single-authored book, “Destroy Them Gradually”: Displacement Atrocity Crimes and Annihilation Through Movement (Rutgers University Press, 2023), examines annihilatory forced displacement processes through space and time. Displacement atrocity crimes are defined as the unique fusion of forced displacement with systemic deprivations of vital daily needs (food, water, clothing, shelter, and medical care) to create indirect killing systems.
The book focusses on four crucial cases of displacement atrocities upon which an inductive typology and causal pathway are constructed: Germany’s Genocide of the Herero (1904-1908), Ottoman Genocides of Christian Minorities (1914-1925), Expulsions of Germans from East/Central Europe (1943-1952), and Climate Violence (21st Century). Each case helps illuminate why perpetrators have destroyed populations using displacement atrocity policies or, in the case of climate violence, could yet pursue such policies. Because displacement has been typically framed as a secondary aspect of mass atrocities, existing literatures overlook how perpetrators use displacement as a discreet means of executing a process of destruction rather than a vehicle for simply moving people to a specific location to commit an atrocity.
Given the recurrence of displacement in historical mass violence and the emerging reality of climate change, I argue displacement atrocity crimes need to be taken seriously by scholars, international lawyers, state authorities, and humanitarian organizations since they could remain a perpetrator tool of choice.
The book focusses on four crucial cases of displacement atrocities upon which an inductive typology and causal pathway are constructed: Germany’s Genocide of the Herero (1904-1908), Ottoman Genocides of Christian Minorities (1914-1925), Expulsions of Germans from East/Central Europe (1943-1952), and Climate Violence (21st Century). Each case helps illuminate why perpetrators have destroyed populations using displacement atrocity policies or, in the case of climate violence, could yet pursue such policies. Because displacement has been typically framed as a secondary aspect of mass atrocities, existing literatures overlook how perpetrators use displacement as a discreet means of executing a process of destruction rather than a vehicle for simply moving people to a specific location to commit an atrocity.
Given the recurrence of displacement in historical mass violence and the emerging reality of climate change, I argue displacement atrocity crimes need to be taken seriously by scholars, international lawyers, state authorities, and humanitarian organizations since they could remain a perpetrator tool of choice.
Photo: Sahara Desert, Morocco.
Source: Andrew R. Basso, 2018.
Source: Andrew R. Basso, 2018.
