Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal Volume 11 Issue 3 Global Approaches to Atrocity Prevention: Theory, Practice, and the State of Article 1 the Field 3-2018 Full Issue 11.3 Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp Recommended Citation (2018) "Full Issue 11.3," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 11: Iss. 3: 1-147. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3 Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol11/iss3/1 This Front Matter is brought to you for free and open access by the Open Access Journals at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. i ISSN 1911-0359 eISSN 1911-9933 Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal Volume 11.3 - 2018 ii ©2018 Genocide Studies and Prevention 11, no. 3 http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3 iii Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/ Volume 11.3 - 2018 Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Christian Gudehus, Susan Braden, Joann DiGeorgio-Lutz, Lior Zylberman, and Brian Kritz Editors’ Introduction ................................................................................................................1 James P. Finkel Global Approaches to Atrocity Prevention: Introduction to the Special Issue .........................3 State of the Field Samantha Capicotto and Rob Scharf National Mechanisms for the Prevention of Atrocity Crimes ..................................................6 Articles Sarah Brockmeier and Philipp Rotmann Germany’s Politics and Bureaucracy for Preventing Atrocities.............................................20 Edward C. Luck Why the United Nations Underperforms at Preventing Mass Atrocities ..............................32 Ekkehard Strauss The UN Secretary-General’s Human Rights Up Front Initiative and the Prevention of Genocide: Impact, Potential, Limitations ...........................................................................48 Matthew Levinger Forging Consensus for Atrocity Prevention: Assessing the Record of the OSCE ..................60 Giulia Persoz Neutrality: A Tool or a Limit for Preventing Mass Atrocitiy Crimes and Genocide? The Case of Switzerland ..........................................................................................................75 David A. Frank The Reduction of Mass Atrocity Crimes in East Asia: The Evolving Norms of ASEAN’s Prevention Mechanisms..........................................................................................................98 Robin Gregory, Michael Harstone, and Paul Slovic Improving Intervention Decisions to Prevent Genocide: Less Muddle, More Structure ....109 ©2018 Genocide Studies and Prevention 11, no. 3 http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3 iv Book Reviews Nation Building in Kurdistan: Memory, Genocide and Human Rights by Mohammed Ihsan, reviewed by Michael M. Gunter .............................................128 Reichsrock: The International Web of White-Power and Neo-Nazi Hate Music by Kirsten Dyck, reviewed by Christiane K. Alsop .....................................................131 La Muerte del Verdugo: Reflexiones Interdisciplinarias Sobre el Cadáver de los Criminales de Masa edited by Séviane Garibian, reviewed by Vincent Druliolle ......................................134 Politics of Innocence: Hutu Identity, Conflict and Camp Life by Simon Turner, reviewed by Andrea Purdeková .....................................................137 Responding to Purdeková Simon Turner .....................................................................................................................139 The Failures of Ethics: Confronting the Holocaust, Genocide, and Other Mass Atrocities John K. Roth, reviewed by James J. Snow .....................................................................141 Film Review Fatih Akin, The Cut reviewed by Anna Batori .................................................................................................145 ©2018 Genocide Studies and Prevention 11, no. 3 http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3 Editors’ Introduction This issue of Genocide Studies and Prevention, titled “Global Approaches to Atrocity Prevention: Theory, Practice, and the State of the Field,” presents a critical overview of the current state of Atrocity Prevention around the world. The issue was conceived of in mid-2016 by Douglas Irvin- Erickson and James P. Finkel, with the hope of responding to two immediate needs in scholarship and practice. First, we felt, scholars can always benefit from the perspectives of practitioners, officials, and others with experience working in various bureaucracies—while practitioners and policy makers could benefit from scholarship that helps them critically reflect on their work. Secondly, very little research was being conducted on the sudden outburst of energy around the world (over the past five years) to create national-level government, governmental, and civil-society institutions (with clear institutional connections to governments) dedicated to the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities. Why there has been such little scholarship on these national mechanisms is a matter of speculation. Perhaps the horrors of mass atrocities and genocide in Syria, South Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar, and many other places, cast a shadow over these bright spots? Whatever the reason, the editorial board of GSP felt it was important to try and cast a spotlight on some of the positive developments around the world in the area of atrocity prevention. Even when the authors in this special issue feel that the institutions and “mechanisms” they are writing about might be failing to meet their goals or fulfill their mandates, there is nevertheless a collective sense that hundreds of millions of people around the world have a stake in the success of these efforts. How far has the field of genocide and atrocity prevention come in the last decade? Readers are encouraged to peruse back issues of GSP to get a sense for just how much the state of the field has evolved—looking especially to the first issue of the journal dedicated exclusively to atrocity prevention, issue 2.1 published in 2007.1 Now, there are national level mechanisms for atrocity prevention (or other national-level officially established bodies that include representatives from different areas of government relevant to the prevention of atrocity crimes) in Argentina, Burundi, Canada, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Kenya, Mexico, Paraguay, Switzerland, Tanzania, the United States, Uganda, and many others. Most of these national-level mechanism, such as the Ugandan National Committee for Genocide and Atrocity Prevention, are focused primarily on the prevention of mass atrocities domestically in their own national communities. Others, like the United States’ Atrocity Prevention Board, are exclusively concerned with the prevention of mass atrocities outside of the country. Others still, such as the Swiss national body, integrate both foreign and domestic prevention efforts into their mandate. There are also many international and regional mechanisms for atrocity prevention, working in various capacities (and in various directions), including the United Nation’s Office on the Prevention of Genocide and the Responsibility to Protect, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and so forth. Of course, these institutions and organizations have their own agendas, and are certainly not working synchronously. In some instances, they even seem to be contradicting each other. Yet, in one way or another, genocide and atrocity prevention is now part of their mandates. The authors who responded to our call for papers issued in 2016 represent some of the leading international scholars in the field. The editors were pleased to see many of the above-mentioned cases covered in the submissions, and we hope this issue will inspire GSP’s readers to submit research on those efforts left out of this issue. What makes this issue especially valuable is the profile of the contributors. Some of the authors consider themselves atrocity prevention practitioners, and many have years of experience working in government or international organizations. 1 Herb Hirsch, “Editor’s Introduction,” Genocide Studies and Prevention, 2, no. 1 (2007), 1-6. Douglas Irvin-Erickson, Christian Gudehus, Susan Braden, Joann DiGeorgio-Lutz, Lior Zylberman, and Brian Kritz. “Editors’ Introduction” Genocide Studies and Prevention 11, 3 (2018): 1-2. ©2018 Genocide Studies and Prevention. http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3.1590 2 Finally, we would like to thank the guest editor James P. Finkel for working tirelessly with the authors to produce this issue. We also extend a special thanks to our anonymous peer reviewers for their considerable efforts. Douglas Irvin-Erickson Christian Gudehus Susan Braden Joann DiGeorgio-Lutz Lior Zylberman Brian Kritz ©2018 Genocide Studies and Prevention 11, no. 3 http://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.11.3 Global Approaches to Atrocity Prevention: Introduction to the Special Issue Most observers who follow US human rights policy and atrocity prevention issues and recall the fate of Washington’s first effort to systematically foresee