The various facets of eliminationist politics: Conflict, nation-building, and forced migration

Abstract

Eliminationist policies, as defined in this article, are deliberate actions by state or non-state actors that aim to destroy, remove, or erase certain groups on the basis of salient social identity characteristics. Conflict, nation-building, and forced migration scholars examine different facets of these policies, and related tactics, motivated by different research questions and methodological choices. This has resulted in academic silos, with varied conceptualizations, operationalizations, and scope conditions. These, in turn, limit theory-building and testing, introduce sources of potential bias, and undermine the generalizability of the findings. To address these shortcomings, we propose a broader field of ‘eliminationist politics’ encouraging cross-field dialogue. We propose that bringing these scholars into conversation will enhance theorizing, generate new research questions, and spur data collection efforts.