Democide

Democide is a concept developed by political scientist Rudolph Rummel to describe the murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder. It encompasses a broader range of killings than the term "genocide" typically covers.

Definition:

Democide refers to the intentional killing of unarmed or disarmed people by government agents acting in their authoritative capacity, by command of government policy. This includes:

• Genocide: The deliberate destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
• Politicide: The murder of people because of their political beliefs or affiliations.
• Mass Murder: The indiscriminate killing of a large number of people.
• Extrajudicial Executions: Killings carried out without due process of law.
• Deaths Caused by Man-Made Famine: Deaths resulting from government policies that create or exacerbate famine conditions.
• Deaths Through Forced Labor and Experimentation: Deaths resulting from inhumane government programs.

Distinction from Other Terms:

• Genocide: Democide is a broader term than genocide. While genocide specifically targets groups defined by national, ethnic, racial, or religious characteristics, democide includes the killing of people for any reason by a government.
• War Crimes: While war crimes involve violations of the laws of war, democide specifically addresses killings committed by a government against its own (or other) unarmed populations, often in times of peace or outside the context of traditional warfare.

Criticism and Controversy:

The concept of democide and the data compiled by Rummel have been subject to criticism. Some critics argue that the definition is too broad and can be used to inflate the number of deaths attributed to democide. Others question the accuracy of the data used to estimate democide deaths, particularly in historical contexts where records are incomplete or unreliable. Determining intent and government responsibility in certain circumstances (e.g., famine) can also be complex and contentious.

Rudolph Rummel's Work:

Rudolph Rummel dedicated much of his career to researching and quantifying democide. He compiled extensive data on the frequency and severity of democide throughout history, publishing numerous books and articles on the subject. His work aimed to raise awareness of the scale and consequences of government-sponsored killings.