Revolution And Genocide in Ethiopia And Cambodia

Comparing and contrasting the Cambodian and Ethiopian revolutions of the 1970s, Kissi (African history, U. of South Florida) pays particular attention to the causes and objectives of the two revolutions; the cultural and historical circumstances that gave them their characteristics; the conduct and choices of leaders, their followers, and opponents; and the nature of the genocide or crimes against humanity that occurred in the course of the revolutions. He argues that the Khmer Rouge's genocide in Cambodia was much broader in scope, which he attributes to the Khmer Rouge's messianic ideology of racial purity versus the Ethiopian Dergue's pursuit of inter-racial unity through the suppression of ethnic chauvinism. Thus the Dergue government largely committed its crimes against its political enemies, rather than whole ethnic or class groups. Kissi considers the implications of this difference for questions of the legal definition of genocide and for the prospects of prosecuting Ethiopian perpetrators. Annotation c2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Edward Kissi is assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of South Florida, Tampa.