Defining Genocide Jack Nusan Porter - 2983 Words

Jack Nusan Porter, an Ukrainian American sociologist defined the term genocide as follows: â€Å"Genocide is the deliberate destruction, in whole or in part, by a government or its agents, of a racial, sexual, religious, tribal or political minority. It can involve not only mass murder, but also starvation, forced deportation, and political, economic and biological subjugation. Genocide involves three major components: ideology, technology, and bureaucracy/organization.† I chose to use this definition instead of the definition given by the ‘Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide’ because I think this one is incomplete, as it does not include political minorities. It is true that a genocide may not be carried out by a government or its agents, but I also believe that if not by these two groups of people, it must have their help and consent or otherwise it would not happen. The aim of this essay will be to convey and contrast the two g enocide cases in Rwanda and Darfur from a US Foreign Policy perspective, to see what has been done in order to help these two regions and what else should have been done by not only a country that is one of the biggest if not the biggest power from the last century, but also a country that thinks of itself as exceptional, that feels it has the moral obligation and duty of sharing and spreading democracy in the name of human rights. Foreign policies such as ‘Exceptionalism’ and ‘Isolationism’ will be examined fully, along