Why are some genocides prominently remembered while others are ignored, hidden, or denied? Consider the Turkish campaign denying the Armenian genocide, followed by the Armenian movement to recognize the violence. Similar movements are building to acknowledge other genocides that have long remained out of sight in the media, such as those against the Circassians, Greeks, Assyrians, the indigenous peoples in the Americas and Australia, and the violence that was the precursor to and the aftermath of the Holocaust. The contributors to this collection look at these cases and others from a variety of perspectives. These essays cover the extent to which our biases, our ways of knowing, our patterns of definition, our assumptions about truth, and our processes of remembering and forgetting as well as the characteristics of generational transmission, the structures of power and state ideology, and diaspora have played a role in hiding some events and not others. Noteworthy among the collection's coverage is whether the trade in African slaves was a form of genocide and a discussion not only of Hutus brutalizing Tutsi victims in Rwanda, but of the execution of moderate Hutus as well. Hidden Genocides is a significant contribution in terms of both descriptive narratives and interpretations to the emerging subfield of critical genocide studies.

This volume explores how religious leaders can contribute to cultures of peace around the world. The essays are written by leading and emerging scholars and practitioners who have lived, taught, or worked in the areas of conflict about which they write. Connecting the theory and practice of religious peacebuilding to illuminate key challenges facing interreligious dialogue and interreligious peace work, the volume is explicitly interreligious, intercultural, and global in perspective. The chapters approach religion and peace from the vantage point of security studies, sociology, ethics, ecology, theology, and philosophy. A foreword by David Smock, the Vice President of Governance, Law and Society and Director of the Religion and Peacebuilding Center at the United States Institute of Peace, outlines the current state of the field.

The ethics of changemaking and peacebuilding may appear straightforward: advance dignity, promote well-being, minimize suffering. Sounds simple, right? Actually acting ethically when it really matters is rarely straightforward. If someone engaged in change-oriented work sets out to "do good," how should we prioritize and evaluate whose good counts? And, how ought we act once we have decided whose good counts? Practitioners frequently confront dilemmas where dire situations may demand some form of response, but each of the options may have undesirable consequences of one form or another. Dilemmas are not merely ordinary problems, they are wicked problems: that is to say, they are defined by circumstances that only allow for suboptimal outcomes and are based on profound and sometimes troubling trade-offs. Wicked Problems argues that the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation needs a stronger and more practical sense of its ethical obligations. For example, it argues against posing false binaries between domestic and international issues and against viewing violence and conflict as equivalents. It holds strategic nonviolence up to critical scrutiny and shows that "do no harm" approaches may in fact do harm. The contributors include scholars, scholar practitioners in the field, and activists on the streets, and the chapters cover the role of violence in conflict; conflict and violence prevention and resolution; humanitarianism; community organizing and racial justice; social movements; human rights advocacy; transitional justice; political reconciliation; and peace education and pedagogy, among other topics. Drawing on the lived experiences and expertise of activists, educators, and researchers, Wicked Problems equips readers to ask-and answer-difficult questions about social change work.

The ethics of changemaking and peacebuilding may appear straightforward: advance dignity, promote well-being, minimize suffering. Sounds simple, right? Actually acting ethically when it really matters is rarely straightforward. If someone engaged in change-oriented work sets out to "do good," how should we prioritize and evaluate whose good counts? And, how ought we act once we have decided whose good counts? Practitioners frequently confront dilemmas where dire situations may demand some form of response, but each of the options may have undesirable consequences of one form or another. Dilemmas are not merely ordinary problems, they are wicked problems: that is to say, they are defined by circumstances that only allow for suboptimal outcomes and are based on profound and sometimes troubling trade-offs. Wicked Problems argues that the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation needs a stronger and more practical sense of its ethical obligations. For example, it argues against posing false binaries between domestic and international issues and against viewing violence and conflict as equivalents. It holds strategic nonviolence up to critical scrutiny and shows that "do no harm" approaches may in fact do harm. The contributors include scholars, scholar practitioners in the field, and activists on the streets, and the chapters cover the role of violence in conflict; conflict and violence prevention and resolution; humanitarianism; community organizing and racial justice; social movements; human rights advocacy; transitional justice; political reconciliation; and peace education and pedagogy, among other topics. Drawing on the lived experiences and expertise of activists, educators, and researchers, Wicked Problems equips readers to ask-and answer-difficult questions about social change work.

Over the last few years, public discourse and a number of events reveal the escalation of a pernicious "us-versus-them" ideology in the U.S., in which calls to restore America's greatness are increasingly accompanied by language dehumanizing minority groups, including racial, religious and ethnic groups as well as immigrant communities. The book is motivated by our continued recognition of systems of structural violence and injustice, which are linked to longstanding systems of racism, social marginalization, xenophobia, poverty, and inequality in all forms. These deeply rooted and structural conflicts in the U.S. have no easy solutions, and the destructive nature of today's conflicts in America threaten to impede efforts to build peace, promote justice, and inspire constructive social change. While conditions vary across the country and for different groups, and protests have generally remained peaceful thus far, the possibility of inter-group violence is not the only concern for the peacebuilding community; the violation of the civil and human rights of vulnerable groups, both minority communities as well as the very poor in general, also present serious threats both to American democracy and core conceptions of justice. The primary objective of this volume is to illustrate an architecture for peace in the United States. The volume represents the first step in such a creation, with the potential for developing policy recommendations that foster pro-social values. We bring together a diverse group of scholars, conflict resolution practitioners, community peacebuilders, civil society leaders and faith leaders who are committed to pro-social change in America. Collectively, we will examine how best to deescalate the destructive public rhetoric, undermine the "us versus them" polarity, and support pro-social voices for positive change. Together, this volume will share experiences and perspectives on America's current situation, develop a vision for how we can collectively respond in our communities, campuses, and congregations, and catalyze future partnerships, collaboration, and action.

Over the last few years, public discourse and a number of events reveal the escalation of a pernicious "us-versus-them" ideology in the U.S., in which calls to restore America's greatness are increasingly accompanied by language dehumanizing minority groups, including racial, religious and ethnic groups as well as immigrant communities. The book is motivated by our continued recognition of systems of structural violence and injustice, which are linked to longstanding systems of racism, social marginalization, xenophobia, poverty, and inequality in all forms. These deeply rooted and structural conflicts in the U.S. have no easy solutions, and the destructive nature of today's conflicts in America threaten to impede efforts to build peace, promote justice, and inspire constructive social change. While conditions vary across the country and for different groups, and protests have generally remained peaceful thus far, the possibility of inter-group violence is not the only concern for the peacebuilding community; the violation of the civil and human rights of vulnerable groups, both minority communities as well as the very poor in general, also present serious threats both to American democracy and core conceptions of justice. The primary objective of this volume is to illustrate an architecture for peace in the United States. The volume represents the first step in such a creation, with the potential for developing policy recommendations that foster pro-social values. We bring together a diverse group of scholars, conflict resolution practitioners, community peacebuilders, civil society leaders and faith leaders who are committed to pro-social change in America. Collectively, we will examine how best to deescalate the destructive public rhetoric, undermine the "us versus them" polarity, and support pro-social voices for positive change. Together, this volume will share experiences and perspectives on America's current situation, develop a vision for how we can collectively respond in our communities, campuses, and congregations, and catalyze future partnerships, collaboration, and action.

This volume explores how religious leaders can contribute to cultures of peace around the world. The essays are written by leading and emerging scholars and practitioners who have lived, taught, or worked in the areas of conflict about which they write. Connecting the theory and practice of religious peacebuilding to illuminate key challenges facing interreligious dialogue and interreligious peace work, the volume is explicitly interreligious, intercultural, and global in perspective. The chapters approach religion and peace from the vantage point of security studies, sociology, ethics, ecology, theology, and philosophy. A foreword by David Smock, the Vice President of Governance, Law and Society and Director of the Religion and Peacebuilding Center at the United States Institute of Peace, outlines the current state of the field.

The Genocide Convention was drafted by the United Nations in the late 1940s, as a response to the horrors of the Second World War. But was the Genocide Convention truly effective at achieving its humanitarian aims, or did it merely exacerbate the divisive rhetoric of Cold War geopolitics? A Rhetorical Crime shows how genocide morphed from a legal concept into a political discourse used in propaganda battles between the United States and the Soviet Union. Over the course of the Cold War era, nearly eighty countries were accused of genocide, and yet there were few real-time interventions to stop the atrocities committed by genocidal regimes like the Cambodian Khmer Rouge. Renowned genocide scholar Anton Weiss-Wendt employs a unique comparative approach, analyzing the statements of Soviet and American politicians, historians, and legal scholars in order to deduce why their moral posturing far exceeded their humanitarian action.