This book considers different stages of Kurdish history, oppression, and genocide through a critical lens, offering an historiography of Iraq and colonialism. Divided into two parts, the first part conceptualizes the coined term “genocide culture” and examines dominant Iraqi cultural practices that fostered genocide. The second part contextualizes the experiences of the Kurdish community to examine the effects of cultural practices and the role of “civilian actors” in fueling the extermination of targeted groups.
Through semi-structured interviews, primary archival documents, and nonparticipant observation, the author studies the links between everyday cultural practices and microaggression in general and the nexus between the state and the general population in the implementation of macroaggression and genocide. The audience will include scholars and students interested in genocide studies and the relation of both genocide and culture to histories of colonialism, as well as those working in the fields of violence and cultural psychology, sociology, history, international relations, ethnic conflict, and Middle Eastern studies.
Illustrations Acknowledgment List of Abbreviations Notes on Translation Introduction 1: Background: A Brief History of The Kurds PART ONE CONCEPTUALIZATION OF GENOCIDE 2: Introduction to Genocide Culture Genocide culture, Civilian actors, Ethnic engineering 3: Stimulation of Genocide Culture Tribalism, leader syndrome, structuration of public and private spheres 4: The Inception of Genocide Culture Pre-Existing Culture, Moral Panic, and Iraqi Doxa 5: The Evolution of Genocide Culture Pan-Arab Nationalism, Sociopolitical Violence, and the Orientalization of the Outfield 6: The Manifestation of Genocide Culture Religious Doxa, Religio-Cultural Habitus, Deistic Ideology 7: Distinction of Genocide Culture from Cultural Genocide Culture Kills Culture; Acculturation; Bottom-Up Cascade PART TWO CONTEXTUALIZATION OF GENOCIDE 8: The Institutionalization of Ba’athism, The Ba’athification Of Institutions Institutionalized Genocide Culture, Autopoietic Self-Reproducing, Militarized Society 9: Genocide Culture Via Linguicide Language Education Policy, Saddamist State, Death of linguistic capital 10: Genocide Culture in Assimilative Education The Elimination of Illiteracy, The Ba’athification & Militarization of Education, Identification Numbering Policy 11: Genocide Culture in Genocide of the Land, and Demographic Engineering Confiscation, Demographic Destruction, legalization of illegal actions. 12: Conclusion Index
Kaziwa Salih holds a Ph.D. from Queen’s University, Canada, where she specialized in the cultural sociology of genocide/violence and the way microaggressions foster macroaggression. She is the multiple award-winning author of over 10 non-fiction and fiction books and has written many articles and academic articles. She founded and served as the editor-in-chief of two Kurdish journals, Nvar and Newekar, and currently, she serves as the Collection Editor for Middle Eastern Studies at Lived Place Publishing. Her commitment to human rights is evident through her involvement with various organizations across Canada, Kurdistan, Egypt, and Syria, including notable contributions to the United Nations Association and Amnesty International.
Reviews for Genocide Culture: Cultural Habitus, Ethnic Engineering and Religious Doxa
‘Dr. Salih develops an original analysis of how group difference and eliminationist sentiment can be embedded in the cultural psychology of individuals and sociocultural institutions, facilitating the perpetration of genocide. Her book is one of the first to bring a sophisticated, theoretically informed genocide studies perspective to the study of Ba'athist genocides against Kurds.’ Andrew Woolford, University of Manitoba, Canada ‘Kaziwa Salih examines the cultural roots of Kurdish genocides. Salih shows that political divisions cover deeper doxa (accepted beliefs) that fracture nations and empires. Lemkin held that genocide is cultural. Kurdish genocides have been attempts to destroy Kurdish culture.’ Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President, Genocide Watch ‘Genocide needs to be analyzed within the categories of classical sociology. Focusing on the case study of the Kurds in Iraq, Kaziwa Salih offers a great contribution to comprehending the functionality and objective of genocidal social practices and the role of culture in genocide.’ Daniel Feierstein, National University of Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
