A Useful Toolbox for Genocide Research

Abstract

Genocide: A Normative Account by Larry May focuses on several normative and conceptual issues associated with the crime of genocide, including the meaning of “destruction,” the relationship between individual intent and collective action, and the role of motive in the assessment of guilt. May's ultimate and somewhat controversial goal is to create “a deflated idea of genocide” (p. 19) to enable the successful prosecution or defense of the crime. Certain flaws in his argument aside, May's study contributes constructively to the ongoing discussion in the genocide literature about the inherent difficulties associated with the international genocide statute (Drumbl 2007; Goldhagen 2009:233–261). Genocide is divided into five sections. Part A focuses on the group as the object of destruction. May relies on a nominalist conception of groups to argue that groups targeted for destruction are those which are recognizable as coherent and stable by their members and the larger society. Group cohesiveness does not rely on immutable characteristics alone, but also on the perceptions of individuals. This line of reasoning is particularly useful because it permits the inclusion of cultural and political groups long-excluded by the United Nations Genocide Convention.