Genocide in the Age of the Nation-State Volume II: The Rise of the West and the Coming of Genocide

Most books on genocide consider it primarily as a twentieth-century phenomenon. In "The Rise of the West and the Coming of Genocide", Levene argues that this approach fails to grasp its true origins. Genocide developed out of modernity and the striving for the nation-state, both essentially Western experiences. It was European expansion into all hemispheres between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries that provided the main stimulus to its pre-1914 manifestations. One critical outcome, on the cusp of modernity, was the French revolutionary destruction of the Vendee. Levene finishes this volume at the 1914 watershed with the destabilising effects of the 'rise of the West' on older Ottoman, Chinese, Russian and Austrian empires. Most books on genocide consider it primarily as a twentieth-century phenomenon. In The Rise of the West and the Coming of Genocide, Levene argues that this approach fails to grasp its true origins. Genocide developed out of modernity and the striving for the nation-state, both essentially Western experiences. It was European expansion into all hemispheres between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries that provided the main stimulus to its pre-1914 manifestations. One critical outcome, on the cusp of modernity, was the French revolutionary destruction of the Vendée. Levene finishes this volume at the 1914 watershed with the destabilising effects of the'rise of the West'on older Ottoman, Chinese, Russian and Austrian empires.'Very impressive'- Eric Hobsbawm Introduction to Volume II -- Part One: To the Frontiers -- 1 European Conquerors and Sundry 'Savages' -- 2 Anglo Consolidation in the Americas and Antipodes -- Part Two: Enter the Nation-State -- 3 The Vendée - A Paradigm Shift? -- 4 The French Model, its Discontents and Contenders -- Part Three: Empires in Advance: Empires in Retreat -- 5 Ascendant Imperialisms -- 6 Declining Powers -- Notes -- Select -- Bibliography -- Index Most books on genocide consider it as a twentieth-century phenomenon. In The Rise of the West and the Coming of Genocide, Levene argues that this approach doesn't grasp its true origins. Genocide developed out of modernity and the striving for the nation-state, both essentially Western experiences. European expansion fuelled its pre-1914 emergence. Considering the phenomenon within the broad context of world historical developments, this study of genocide looks at the rise of the practice in the west, in both its modern and early modern domestic and colonial settings