• DOI:10.1177/0002716296548001012
• Corpus ID: 144586524

Paradigms of Genocide: The Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and Contemporary Mass Destructions

@article{Melson1996ParadigmsOG,
  title={Paradigms of Genocide: The Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and Contemporary Mass Destructions},
  author={Robert F. Melson},
  journal={The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science},
  year={1996},
  volume={548},
  pages={156 - 168}
}

• Robert F. Melson
• Published 1 November 1996
• Sociology, Political Science
• The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science

When confronted with mass death and forced deportations, the contemporary world community has often reached for the Holocaust as a paradigmatic case of genocide in order both to make sense of and to condemn current events. This article suggests that the Armenian Genocide sets a more accurate precedent than the Holocaust for current mass disasters, especially such as those in Nigeria and in the former Yugoslavia, which are the products of nationalism. Conversely, the Holocaust is a prototype for genocidal movements that transcend nationalism and are motivated by ideologies that have global scope.