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Author Straus, Scott, 1970- author.

Title Making and Unmaking Nations : War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa / Scott Straus
Published Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2015

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Description 1 online resource
Contents Introduction : the puzzle of genocide -- The concept and logic of genocide -- Escalation and restraint -- A theory of genocide -- Patterns of genocide and mass categorical violence in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960-2008 -- Retreating from the brink in Côte d'Ivoire -- The politics of dialogue in Mali -- Pluralism and accommodation in Senegal -- Endangered Arab-Islamic nationalism in Sudan -- Fighting for the Hutu revolution in Rwanda -- Conclusion : making nations and preventing their unmaking
Summary In Making and Unmaking Nations, Scott Straus seeks to explain why and how genocide takes place--and, perhaps more important, how it has been avoided in places where it may have seemed likely or even inevitable. To solve that puzzle, he examines postcolonial Africa, analyzing countries in which genocide occurred and where it could have but did not. Why have there not been other Rwandas? Straus finds that deep-rooted ideologies--how leaders make their nations--shape strategies of violence and are central to what leads to or away from genocide. Other critical factors include the dynamics of war, the role of restraint, and the interaction between national and local actors in the staging of campaigns of large-scale violence. Grounded in Straus's extensive fieldwork in contemporary Africa, the study of major twentieth-century cases of genocide, and the literature on genocide and political violence, Making and Unmaking Nations centers on cogent analyses of three nongenocide cases (Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal) and two in which genocide took place (Rwanda and Sudan). Straus's empirical analysis is based in part on an original database of presidential speeches from 1960 to 2005. The book also includes a broad-gauge analysis of all major cases of large-scale violence in Africa since decolonization. Straus's insights into the causes of genocide will inform the study of political violence as well as giving policymakers and nongovernmental organizations valuable tools for the future
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 343-378) and index
Subject Genocide -- Africa, Sub-Saharan
Nation-building -- Africa, Sub-Saharan
Political leadership -- Africa, Sub-Saharan
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Criminology.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Violence in Society.
Genocide.
Nation-building.
Political leadership.
Politics and government.
SUBJECT Africa, Sub-Saharan -- Politics and government -- 1960- http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85001684
Subject Sub-Saharan Africa.
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780801453328
0801453321
9780801479687
0801479681
9780801455681
0801455685
9780801455674
0801455677