The genocide that changed the world

Shaw, Martin

doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2025.2556575

The genocide that changed the world

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Shaw M. The genocide that changed the world. J Genocide Res. 2026;28(3):588-602. DOI: 10.1080/14623528.2025.2556575

Abstract

The question of genocide will never be the same following the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza, which is still ongoing after almost two years at the time of writing. This has had a global impact which far exceeds that of other recent cases, and represents a major change in the role of the phenomenon in the international system, with equally transformative significance for its academic study. This article examines the distinctive features of the Gaza case, its consequences and the issues of conceptualization that it poses. It contends that with Gaza, genocide has moved from the margins to the centre of world politics, so that the assumptions about how it can be prevented which prevailed in the previous period are no longer relevant. It also argues that the present conceptual state of the academic genocide studies field is no longer sustainable, and that scholars must revisit its foundations in order to adequately understand the new challenges. In particular, Gaza shows how, even when war and genocide are largely fused, distinct concepts of each are essential for understanding.