Revisiting the heart of darkness – Explorations into genocide and other forms of mass violence

This Development Dialogue is published on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Genocide Convention, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 9th December 1948. On the basis of the normative framework created and more recently also applied in a few cases, the contributions seek to explore further the socio-historical and -political contexts of genocide and mass violence and test the common approaches against analyses of social realities as well as theories. The historical dimension is of significance to many of the chapters. These are based on two conferences held in Uppsala in December 2006 and Voksenåsen/Oslo in November 2007, presenting scholarly as well as politically and morally guided forms of engagement. This blend seeks to acknowledge the need to unite differently posed concerns and appeals in their common efforts to examine further the notion of genocide (as well as its limitations), with the aim of reducing the risks of history repeating itself.