The United States and genocide : (re)defining the relationship / Jeffrey S. Bachman.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction : (re)contextualizing the US relationship with genocide -- Redefining genocide -- Cultural genocide : nullum crimen sine lege -- Conspiracy to commit genocide in Indonesia -- Complicity in genocide in Bangladesh and Guatemala -- A history of genocide in Iraq -- Genocide in Vietnam -- Again and again : the US relationship with genocide.

"There exists a dominant narrative that essentially defines the United States' relationship with genocide through what the U.S. has failed to do to stop or prevent genocide, rather than though how its actions have contributed to the commission of genocide. This narrative acts to conceal the true nature of the United States' relationship with many of the governments that have committed genocide since the Holocaust, as well as the United States' own actions. In response this book challenges the dominant narrative through a comprehensive analysis of the United States' relationship with genocide. The analysis is situated within the broader genocide studies literature, while emphasizing the role of state responsibility for the commission of genocide and the crime's ancillary acts. The book addresses how a culture of impunity contributes to the resiliency of the dominant narrative in the face of considerable evidence that challenges it. Bachman's narrative presents a far darker relationship between the United States and genocide, one that has developed from the start of the Genocide Convention's negotiations and has extended all the way to the present day, as can be seen in the relationships in the U.S. maintains with potentially genocidal regimes, from Saudi Arabia to Myanmar. This book will be of interest to scholars, postgraduates, and students of genocide studies, U.S. foreign policy, and human rights. A secondary readership may be found in those who study international law and internal relations"-- Provided by publisher.