“Citizens victimised by genocide or abandoned by the international community do not make good neighbours,” writes Samantha Power in her book A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide. She goes on to add, “Their thirst for vengeance, their irredentism, and their acceptance of violence as a means of generating change can turn them into future threats.” Ambassador Samantha Power makes us consider who is ultimately responsible for acts of genocide. Is the world to blame, or just the individuals who commit genocide?
2. In answer, Dr. Omar McDoom, a comparative political scientist and associate professor at the London School of Economics’ department of government, is probably the best person to shed light on this perplexing issue.
3. Dr. McDoom holds law degrees from Kings College London and the Université de Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, a master’s degree in international development studies from George Washington University, and a PhD in development studies from the London School of Economics. He is also a non-practising attorney admitted in New York.
4. Before joining the LSE, Omar completed research fellowships at Harvard University, at the Belfer Centre for Science and International Affairs, and then at Oxford University, in the Department of Politics and International Relations. His professional experience outside of the academy includes work as a policy officer for the World Bank, as a legal officer for the Government of Guyana, and on electoral missions for the OSCE and UN. He also co-founded a non-profit organisation in 2004, which develops leadership potential in children affected by northern Uganda’s civil war.
5. Omar is the author of The Path to Genocide in Rwanda: Security, Opportunity, and Authority in an Ethnocratic State.
6. In this episode, we discuss the topic of why genocide is the responsibility of the entire world.
7. Look up Episode 014 of Conversations with Stephen Kamugasa, and please subscribe to Conversations with Stephen Kamugasa podcast through your favourite podcast app to listen to the latest insights from our guest thought leaders.
Recommended Reading:
1. The Path to Genocide in Rwanda: Security, Opportunity, and Authority in an Ethnocratic State (Cambridge University Press, October 2020). By Dr. Omar McDoom.
2. Half of a Yellow Sun (Vintage, September 2007). By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
3. The Poisonwood Bible (Harper Perennial Modern Classics; First Edition, May 31, 2005). By Barbara Kingsolver.
4. A Bend in the River (Vintage; Reissue edition, March 13, 1989). By V. S. Naipaul.