Book review: D Short, Redefining Genocide: Settler Colonialism, Social Death and Ecocide
| Author | Tanya Wyatt |
| DOI | 10.1177/1362480616671094 |
| Published date | 01 February 2017 |
| Date | 01 February 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
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D Short, Redefining Genocide: Settler Colonialism, Social Death and Ecocide, New York: Zed Books,
2016; 224 pp.: 9781842779316, £19.99 (pbk)
Reviewed by: Tanya Wyatt, Northumbria University, UK
Redefining Genocide is an ambitious attempt to challenge the status quo in genocide stud-
ies. Drawing on the main author of the UN Genocide Convention, Raphael Lemkin (who
coined the word genocide), along with indigenous studies, environmental justice and
green criminology, Short makes a compelling case for expanding the definition of geno-
cide. He does so by providing not only a strong theoretical argument as the opening to his
book, but also by including four original well-researched and well-crafted case studies as
evidence (three of these real-life case studies are co-authored with area experts).
The introduction to Redefining Genocide is a succinct accessible account of the evolu-
tion of the existing UN Genocide Convention. Short expertly summarizes a long compli-
cated negotiation process that resulted in genocide essentially only being recognized
when there are mass killings. Chapter 1, ‘Definitional conundrums: A sociological
approach to genocide’, explores the limitations of this definition. A definition of geno-
cide that only acknowledges physical genocide ignores other genocidal actions. Lemkin
(and...
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