The Politicization of the Genocide Label: Genocide Rhetoric in the UN Security Council

Abstract

This article examines the intersection of language, power and national interest by discussing how the UN Security Council permanent five (P5) members navigate the linguistic rhetoric of genocide in debates surrounding the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A discourse analysis methodology is adopted to ascertain how P5 member-states framed the genocide in Srebrenica through an analysis of linguistic themes and silences in council debates. This article argues that UN P5 members use language as a mechanism to frame a conflict in a particular way that aligns with their own national political interests. The article reaffirms the importance of genocide recognition, not only as a vital legal instrument, but one that has the ability to acknowledge the significance of an atrocity and an important variable in post-conflict growth and mediation.