Politicide has three related but distinct meanings. It can mean a gradual but systematic attempt to cause the annihilation of an independent political and social entity. For example the destruction of the
apartheidThe crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other...
system in South Africa. Others have used the term to mean the deliberate physical destruction of a group who share the main characteristic of belonging to a political movement—this definition has been used because such groups are not covered under the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of GenocideThe Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 as General Assembly Resolution 260. The Convention came into effect in January 1951...
(CPPCG).
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Politicide has three related but distinct meanings. It can mean a gradual but systematic attempt to cause the annihilation of an independent political and social entity. For example the destruction of the
apartheidThe crime of apartheid is defined by the 2002 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as inhumane acts of a character similar to other crimes against humanity "committed in the context of an institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination by one racial group over any other...
system in South Africa. Others have used the term to mean the deliberate physical destruction of a group who share the main characteristic of belonging to a political movement—this definition has been used because such groups are not covered under the
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of GenocideThe Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 as General Assembly Resolution 260. The Convention came into effect in January 1951...
(CPPCG). CPPCG only covers the deliberate physical destruction of national, ethnic, racial and religious groups. A third use is noted by the
Oxford English DictionaryThe Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press , is a comprehensive dictionary of the English language...
and describes political suicide by an action which irreparably damages a person's political career.
Israeli sociologist
Baruch KimmerlingBaruch Kimmerling was a professor of sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.-Biography:Baruch Kimmerling was born in Turda, Romania, and had cerebral palsy, a developmental disability. The family narrowly avoided the Holocaust by escaping from their village in a gypsy wagon...
uses the term in his book
Politicide: Sharon’s War Against the Palestinians and his articles. He defines "the politicide of the Palestinian people, a gradual but systematic attempt to cause their annihilation as an independent political and social entity." This he believed has been present throughout Israel's confrontations with the Palestinians, but was epitomised by the thoughts and actions of
Ariel Sharon' is an Israeli general and statesman, former Israeli Prime Minister...
.
The social scientists Barbara Harff and Ted R. Gurr use the term
politicide to describe the killing of groups of people who are targeted not because of shared ethnic or communal traits (the types of groups covered by the CPPCG), but because of "their hierarchical position or political opposition to the regime and dominant groups".
An example of the use of politicide as an action which results in political suicide, was given in
The Kansas City StarThe Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
on 23 February, 1996: "James didn't even finish his inaugural address before committing politicide."
Further reading
- Harff, Barbara. Genocide Politicide, Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research (INSCR), University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park is a public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. Founded in 1856, the University of Maryland is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland...