Ethnic Cleansing: A Social and Legal Examination

Putting forward the argument that the strength of democracies can be measured in how well minorities – especially ethnic and racial minorities – are treated by the majority, Larry May’s Ethnic Cleansing maintains that unjust ethnic cleansing is one of the greatest internal challenges to the modern institutions of pluralistic and multicultural states. In order to determine what constitutes the crime of ethnic cleansing, this book details crucial conceptual issues around the topic, such as what ethnicity means, what ethnic cleansing claims to achieve, why these acts are invariably harmful, and the conditions of restitution, reparation, and reconciliation – affirming that ethnic cleansing must be countered by existing institutions such as the International Criminal Court, which is uniquely situated to prosecute ethnic cleansing. The first major study to analyze ethnic cleansing from an explicitly normative and conceptual perspective in the last decade, the increase in number and complexity of cases of ethnic cleansing makes this a timely book to understand the challenges that confront contemporary society.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Setting the Problem 2. A Proposed “Consensus” Definition 3. Ancient “Ethnic” Atrocities 4. The Trail of Tears 5. Darfur 6. Bosnia: The “Paradigm Case”? 7. The West Bank and Gaza Today 8. The Meaning of the Term “Ethnic” 9. The Meaning of the Term “Cleansing” 10. Identity and Ethnicity 11. Minority Rights 12. Destroying Versus Cleansing 13. Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity 14. The “Divorce” Metaphor 15. The Role of International Criminal Law 16. Prosecuting Perpetrators of Ethnic Cleansing 17. Defenses for Ethnic Cleansing 18. Voluntary Population Transfers 19. Forced Transfers and the “Eminent Domain” Metaphor 20. Justice After Ethnic Cleansing 21. Is Ethnic Cleansing Ever Necessary? 22. The Misuse of the Idea of Purity 23. Conclusions Bibliography

About the Author :
Larry May is an internationally renowned social/political philosopher and legal theorist who has published more than three dozen books. He is W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy and Law Emeritus at Vanderbilt University and Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. He has published a four-volume study of the moral foundations of international criminal law and a three-volume history of legal and political thought. He is the co-author of Applied Ethics: A Multicultural Approach (Routledge, 2016) and author of Trafficking and the Conscience of Humanity (Routledge, 2024).

Review :
"I am not aware of another book on ethnic cleansing that tackles the subject in the manner in which Larry May does here. The conceptual and normative approach, along with philosophical and legal, are fascinating and compelling, and will make this imminently engrossing and accessible to students and scholars alike. This is an outstanding and very timely book." Jeffrey S. Bachman, American University, author of The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect “The subject of this book is timely and will remain timely. This is a topic that, unfortunately, does not disappear and any scholarly discussion of it will hopefully be beneficial in shaping international law and the debates surrounding it. Larry May’s new book makes an important contribution towards this, examining the legal and social implications of ethnic cleansing, and utilizes critical historical and contemporary case studies in powerful and engrossing ways." Stefanie Kunze, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Northern Arizona University "The concept of ethnic cleansing has always been somewhat of a paradox. It has captured the popular imagination as a common-sense description of a particular kind of collective crime, yet international law uses other categories to penalize this behavior. Larry May’s book, better than any other, explores and ultimately resolves this tension in a profound way. A stunning and impactful achievement." Jens David Ohlin, Allan R. Tessler Dean & Professor of Law, Cornell Law School