Thread by @AlexLHinton

**Has Russia committed #genocide in #Ukraine?**

My op-ed in @thehill answers #yes. I discuss the politics of naming and differentiate between colloquial, legal, and social scientific understandings -- and their entailments. A thread 1/9
thehill.com/opinion/intern…

First, #colloquial understandings generally center on the killing of innocents. The Holocaust looms large as a prototype, but it can be applied widely to everything from abortion to AIDS. It can also encompass various sorts of mass atrocities 2/9
ushmm.org/genocide-preve…

Because of its capaciousness, the colloquial understanding can be misapplied and politically appropriated – as was the case with Russia’s baseless claims about genocide in Donbas. 3/9
theconversation.com/putins-claims-…

The killings in #Bucha struck many as genocidal and sparked widespread debate about the term, in part because it was being used in this colloquial manner. At the time, there were nevertheless indicators of genocide. 4/9
theconversation.com/is-russia-comm…

Second, #legalistic understandings center on the UN Genocide Convention, which emphasizes intent and restricts the criminal acts and protected groups. Law is also slow, which means that a legal determination of genocide can take years. 5/9
un.org/en/genocidepre…

Nevertheless, there is evidence of genocide that aligns with legalistic understandings, such as the mass kidnappings of Ukrainian children and the public statements of Putin and his cronies about things like #denazification. 6/9
theconversation.com/russias-mass-k…

Finally, #social scientific understandings center on patterns of group destruction rather than legal criteria -- which are contested, have #limits, and are intertwined with #power. Indeed, restrictiveness of legalism can mask devastating crimes. 7/9
lawfareblog.com/ukraine-genoci…

This social scientific perspective aligns with the views of #Lemkin, who coined the term and recognized it as multidimensional. From this perspective, Russia’s attempt to erase Ukrainian identity and render Ukrainian territories Russian are genocidal. 8/9
preventgenocide.org/lemkin/index.h…

Some people with restrictive legalistic or colloquial understandings may withhold judgment. Others, such as @eugene_finkel @TimothyDSnyder @jleadermaynard @NewlinesInst determined genocide a while ago. Regardless almost everyone agrees Russia has committed atrocity crimes. 9/9