Awards

• Winner of Shortlisted, 2023, Raphael Lemkin Award, Institute for the Study of Genocide.

Overview

In research on 'mass killings' such as genocides and campaigns of state terror, the role of ideology is hotly debated. For some scholars, ideologies are crucial in providing the extremist goals and hatreds that motivate ideologically committed people to kill. But many other scholars are sceptical: contending that perpetrators of mass killing rarely seem ideologically committed, and that rational self-interest or powerful forms of social pressure are more important drivers of violence than ideology. In Ideology and Mass Killing, Jonathan Leader Maynard challenges both these prevailing views, advancing an alternative 'neo-ideological' perspective which systematically retheorises the key ideological foundations of large-scale violence against civilians. Integrating cutting-edge research from multiple disciplines, including political science, political psychology, history and sociology, Ideology and Mass Killing demonstrates that ideological justifications vitally shape such violence in ways that go beyond deep ideological commitment. Most disturbingly of all, the key ideological foundations of mass killings are found to lie, not in extraordinary political goals or hatreds, but in radicalised versions of those conventional, widely accepted ideas that underpin the politics of security in ordinary societies across the world. This study then substantiates this account by a detailed examination of four contrasting cases of mass killing - Stalinist Repression in the Soviet Union between 1930 and 1938, the Allied Bombing Campaign against Germany and Japan in World War II from 1940 to 1945, mass atrocities in the Guatemalan Civil War between 1978 and 1983, and the Rwandan Genocide in 1994. This represents the first volume to offer a dedicated, comparative theory of ideology's role in mass killing, while also developing a powerful new account of how ideology affects violence and politics more generally.

Full Product Details

9780198776796

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Reviews

In this excellent book, Jonathan Leader Maynard develops a powerful argument about the centrality of ideology to the occurrence of mass killing and genocide. The book takes us farther than previous scholarship in showing how ideology drives the selection and perpetration of mass atrocity. A major contribution to the study of violence, the work should be read widely as a rigorous account of how and why ideas matter in shaping political outcomes * Scott Straus, Professor of Political Science at the University of California-Berkeley and author of Making and Unmaking Nations *

In explaining why states or armed groups employ extreme violence, Jonathan Leader Maynard questions the sufficiency of dominant rationalist accounts and argues for ideology's central role. He rejects associations of ideology with revolutionary fanaticism, arguing that the key ideological foundations of mass killing are radical reinterpretations of conventional ideas about security. This ambitious and elegantly written book not only offers a fresh conceptualization of ideology, but also demonstrates through careful comparative historical analysis how ideologies shape the goals, organization, and legitimation of mass killing. It is essential reading for all those interested in understanding and preventing atrocity crimes. * Jennifer Welsh, Professor of Global Governance and Security, McGill University, and former Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect * In this excellent book, Jonathan Leader Maynard develops a powerful argument about the centrality of ideology to the occurrence of mass killing and genocide. The book takes us farther than previous scholarship in showing how ideology drives the selection and perpetration of mass atrocity. A major contribution to the study of violence, the work should be read widely as a rigorous account of how and why ideas matter in shaping political outcomes * Scott Straus, Professor of Political Science at the University of California-Berkeley and author of Making and Unmaking Nations * Either dismissed as causally inconsequential or else overstated as the paramount factor, the role of ideology in mass killings has long been a bone of scholarly contention. Jonathan Leader Maynard brings a welcome fresh perspective to this debate and offers a new theory of how and why ideology matters in such violence. We should stop picking sides - strategic security objectives are entirely reconcilable with extremist beliefs. This book explains in legible English the various ways in which ideology operated for the architects and executioners of violence in places as disparate as the Soviet Union, Guatemala, and Rwanda. It will bring much-needed momentum to the debate and move it forward. * Omar McDoom, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science * Ideology and Mass Killing has a...typical social scientific structure...The writing anticipates questions one imagines the author has received many times and addresses them with genuine intellectual excitement. The text is clearly structured and easy to navigate. Readers with different backgrounds can read chapters in different orders. * Darius Rejali, Human Rights Review * The core thrust of Ideology and Mass Killing is that looking at the political ideology of the perpetrators can explain issues of genocide and mass murder. The argument continues that these ideologies provide the distinctive world view necessary for genocide or mass killing to occur. Leader Maynard (King's College London) does well to explain how ideologies work toward the commission of genocide or mass killing...This offers a new take on an important area of exploration for genocide and mass killing scholars. * Choice *

In explaining why states or armed groups employ extreme violence, Jonathan Leader Maynard questions the sufficiency of dominant rationalist accounts and argues for ideology's central role. He rejects associations of ideology with revolutionary fanaticism, arguing that the key ideological foundations of mass killing are radical reinterpretations of conventional ideas about security. This ambitious and elegantly written book not only offers a fresh conceptualization of ideology, but also demonstrates through careful comparative historical analysis how ideologies shape the goals, organization, and legitimation of mass killing. It is essential reading for all those interested in understanding and preventing atrocity crimes. * Jennifer Welsh, Professor of Global Governance and Security, McGill University, and former Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General on the Responsibility to Protect * In this excellent book, Jonathan Leader Maynard develops a powerful argument about the centrality of ideology to the occurrence of mass killing and genocide. The book takes us farther than previous scholarship in showing how ideology drives the selection and perpetration of mass atrocity. A major contribution to the study of violence, the work should be read widely as a rigorous account of how and why ideas matter in shaping political outcomes * Scott Straus, Professor of Political Science at the University of California-Berkeley and author of Making and Unmaking Nations * Either dismissed as causally inconsequential or else overstated as the paramount factor, the role of ideology in mass killings has long been a bone of scholarly contention. Jonathan Leader Maynard brings a welcome fresh perspective to this debate and offers a new theory of how and why ideology matters in such violence. We should stop picking sides - strategic security objectives are entirely reconcilable with extremist beliefs. This book explains in legible English the various ways in which ideology operated for the architects and executioners of violence in places as disparate as the Soviet Union, Guatemala, and Rwanda. It will bring much-needed momentum to the debate and move it forward. * Omar McDoom, Associate Professor in Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science *

Author Information

Jonathan Leader Maynard is a Lecturer in International Politics in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London. He received his doctorate from the University of Oxford in 2014, where he was also the Rank-Manning Junior Research Fellow and then Departmental Lecturer in International Relations at New College between 2013 and 2020. He has published in leading international journals including the Journal of Peace Research, Ethics, the British Journal of Political Science, and Terrorism and Political Violence.

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