The Politics of Persecution: Contemporary Case Studies (Regional Integration and Social Cohesion)

Description

The age-old practice of persecution has been recognised since the mid-20th century as a crime against humanity under international law. Even so, scores of states have continued to commit this serious human rights violation, characterised by systematic discrimination against groups of people based on aspects of their identity. While acknowledging the legal aspects involved, this book emphasizes the essentially political nature of acts of state-driven discrimination on such grounds as race, language, culture and political orientation. Fifteen contemporary cases of persecution are examined to determine who discriminated against whom, why, how, when and with what outcomes. Among the examples are Indonesia, Turkey, China, Iraq, Uganda, South Africa, Israel, Zimbabwe, Croatia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Cover Contents Acknowledgements Introduction Section I Historical and theoretical perspectives Chapter 1: The universalization of human rights From the Magna Carta to World War I The period 1914 to 1945 From the end of World War II to the end of the Cold War The post-Cold War era References Chapter 2: Analytical framework A definition of international regimes Components of the international human rights regime Principled norms Regime rules Decision-making machinery Global IGOs Regional IGOs NGOs Additional units of analysis International reactions Responsive postures of human rights violators Outcomes References Conclusion to Section I Section II The 1960s Chapter 3: Indonesia Early threats from within The extermination of communists International responses Gross human rights abuses since the 1970s The reluctant reckoning with the past References Chapter 4: China Tibet’s political status Chinese repression International responses Persecution in Tibet after the 1960s References Chapter 5: Turkey The pre-Kemalist era Repression under Atatürk The ‘Democrat Decade’ Persecution in the 1960s The harsh 1970s and 1980s The 1990s and beyond References Conclusion to Section II Section III Chapter 8: Uganda The seeds of domestic conflict Enter Amin Persecution of the Asian minority Persecution of Christians International reactions The post-Amin anti-climax References The 1970s Chapter 6: South Africa The origins and evolution of a racial oligarchy Enter apartheid Apartheid’s end-game The international community versus apartheid South Africa The UN General Assembly and Security Council Other UN agencies Other IGOs The anti-apartheid movement South Africa’s international isolation Why pick on South Africa? Reactions to external pressure Outcomes References Chapter 7: Israel The road to statehood Charges against Israel Ethnocracy and persecution International censure Renewed assertiveness among Israeli Palestinians References Conclusion to Section III Section IV The 1980s Chapter 9: Iraq From mandated territory to independence The first four decades of statehood Enter Saddam Hussein The atrocities of the 1980s Opportunities and agonies since 1990 International responses References Chapter 10: Guatemala Early persecution and political violence Start of the civil war State terror in the 1980s The peace process International reactions Responses to external pressure Outcomes References Chapter 11: Zimbabwe Prelude to conflict The war of liberation A new phase of fratricidal conflict The Gukurahundi offensive The lack of international concern Zimbabwe since the Gukurahundi References Conclusion to Section IV Section V The 1990s Chapter 12: Burundi Dimensions of twinship An inauspicious start to statehood The horrors of the 1970s An eerie interlude The second genocide Genocide and war in the 1990s The Nkurunziza era References Chapter 13: Fiji The pre-independence period Preparations for statehood From independence to 1987 The Rabuka years, 1987 to 1999 Déjà vu: 2000 to 2006 A return to democracy References Chapter 14: Croatia The first Yugoslavia The Independent State of Croatia The second Yugoslavia The third Yugoslavia State-making and war-making Croatian atrocities against Serbs Developments since 2000 International reactions and domestic responses References Conclusion to Section V Section VI The early 2000s Chapter 15: Myanmar Early Rohingya settlement in Burma The transition from dependent status to statehood Troubled democracy gives way to tough dictatorship Continuing persecution in the 1980s Enter SLORC and Myanmar International adversity in the 1990s Into the new century: the home front The international dimension, post-2000 References Chapter 16: Sri Lanka The makings of a deeply divided society Early persecution and resistance in independent Ceylon The advent of an ‘illiberal ethnocracy’ in the 1970s The 1980s: the beginning of civil war The wages of war in the 1990s Defeat for the LTTE The early post-war period: Rajapaksa, continued Enter President Sirisena References Chapter 17: Sudan The dictates of geography and demography From independent sultanate to British colony From independence to the new century Causes of the third civil war The course of the war, 2003 to 2010 Putting a name to the blame International responses Khartoum’s reactions to external pressure The situation in Darfur since 2011 References Conclusion to Section VI Overall conclusion Index