EWJ: Russia's Impact on Current World Events at CSH

EWJ Speaker Series: Russia's Impact on Current World Events and the Implications for the Middle East 

Professor Naimark’s talk will focus on Soviet policies and actions in Europe after World War II and on genocide and ethnic cleansing in the twentieth century. In his latest book, Genocide: A World History (2016, Oxford University Press), Professor Naimark builds upon his earlier works by presenting the history of genocide in a comprehensive but concise way.

The book examines numerous genocides that occurred between those in ancient civilizations and the post-Cold War genocides in the Balkans and Darfur including the warrior genocides such as during the expansion of the Mongolian empire, communist genocides such as those under Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot, and anti-communist genocides as occurred during the Guatemalan civil war. This book contributes to the literature not only by providing a single, complete presentation of the history of genocide, but also by its inclusinon of social and political groups as subjects of mass extermination. In doing so, Naimark is able to identify additional episodes of genocide throughout history, thereby facilitating a better understanding of how mass murder has been used as a political tool and how it has developed over time. 

Professor Naimark earned his Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 1972, and before returning to join the faculty in 1988, he was a professor of history at Boston University and a fellow of the Russian Research Center at Harvard. He is the Robert and Florence McDonnell Professor of East European Studies, a Professor of History and (by courtesy) of German Studies, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution and (by courtesy) of the Freeman-Spogli Institute of International Studies.