Scott Straus

Making and Unmaking Nations: War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa Scott Straus

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Review Quotes:"Scott Straus knows Francophone as well as Anglophone Africa like the back of his hand. In this bold book, he turns the powerless lament after each genocide 'never again' into a helpful insight: mass annihilation is actually more often than not prevented on the strength of ideas that make nations where categorical otherness survives." Stephen W. Smith, Duke University"Table of Contents: Introduction: The Puzzle of GenocidePart I: Concepts and Theory1. The Concept and Logic of Genocide2. Escalation and Restraint3. A Theory of GenocidePart II: Empirics4. Mass Categorical Violence and Genocide in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1960 20085. Retreating from the Brink in Cote d'Ivoire6. The Politics of Dialogue in Mali7. Pluralism and Accommodation in Senegal8. Endangered Arab-Islamic Nationalism in Sudan9. Fighting for the Hutu Revolution in RwandaConclusion: Making Nations and Preventing Their UnmakingAppendix: Identifying the Risk of Genocide and Mass Categorical ViolenceReferencesIndex"Review Quotes:"Making and Unmaking Nations is essential reading for anyone concerned about the nature of state violence in the twenty-first century and finding practical measures to prevent it. In this reasoned and carefully written book, Scott Straus presents high-quality analysis of the causes and processes of genocide. He finds that the character of official statements over decades either portraying exclusionary visions of a pure nation or promoting inclusion of plural communities frames how state violence is deployed during conflicts. This brilliant book shows how the climate of political discourse at the highest levels can tip the balance toward genocide or toward deescalation." Will Reno, Northwestern University, author of Warlord Politics and African States"Review Quotes:"Making and Unmaking Nations is a true tour de force that will set the standard for scholars of genocide and ethnic conflict for years to come. Straus's contributions to our understanding of these important subjects are significant and manifold: He breaks major new theoretical ground and synthesizes it with what we know from the last decade of genocide research. The case studies are extraordinarily rich and profoundly convincing. Straus s mastery of sources and original interviews in so many disparate cases is deeply impressive. The book s focus on Sub-Saharan Africa is a very welcome departure from most other works on the subject. Straus also explores societies that avoided mass violence in much greater detail than previous scholarship. These cases lead to profound insights about why genocide happens and, more important, what we can do to stop it." Benjamin Valentino, Dartmouth College, author of Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the 20th Century"Review Quotes:"By contrasting African countries that experienced genocides with African countries that might have experienced genocide but did not actually do so, Scott Straus has made a major contribution to genocide studies. His conclusion that political leadership and the 'founding narratives' of nations are the most important factors in determining outcomes is original and compelling." Michael Mann, UCLA, author of The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing"Publisher Marketing: 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 (Cote 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."

Contributor Bio:  Straus, Scott Scott Straus is Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is the author of Making and Unmaking Nations: War, Leadership, and Genocide in Modern Africa and The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda, both from Cornell. He is coauthor of Intimate Enemy: Images and Voices of the Rwandan Genocide and Africa's Stalled Development: International Causes and Cures. He is coeditor most recently of The Human Rights Paradox: Universality and Its Discontents.