Colonialism and Genocide - Raphael Lemkin's Concept of Genocide and Its Application to European Rule in Africa
Author(s)
Schaller, Dominik J.
Abstract
The paper applies Raphael Lemkin’s concept of genocide in understanding European colonialism in general and colonial rule in Africa in particular. The author argues that Lemkin’s conceptualization goes beyond United Nations’ definition and encompasses the systematic and deliberate destruction of a colonized group’s political, socio-economic, religious, and cultural structures. In particular, the author references Lemkin’s condemnation of German and Belgian rule in Africa. However, although Lemkin considered it genocidal, it is argued that it was only due to the German and Belgian excessive behavior. In general, Lemkin welcomed the European conquest of Central Africa, which he believed would bring to the region peace and prosperity and, for example, regarded the British colonization of Africa as fair and honest. The author finds a paradox in that the person who believed in the meaning and necessity of colonialism was also the one to articulate the concept that regarded colonial rule as genocidal.
