How can we comprehend the socio-political processes that give rise to extreme violence, ethnic cleansing or genocide? A major breakthrough in comparative analysis, Purify and Destroy demonstrates that it is indeed possible to compare the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia-Hercegovina while respecting the specificities of each. Based on the essential distinction between massacre and genocide, Purify and Destroy identifies the main steps of a general process of destruction, rational and irrational, born of what Semelin terms 'delusional rationality', responding to fears, resentments and utopias, and re-modelling the social body by eliminating 'the enemy'. The main stages that can lead to a genocidal process, with ordinary people becoming perpetrators, are also identified.

"'This book is a major accomplishment in the study of genocide. Semelin explores the deep cause, specific triggers, political and international context, dynamics of implementation, nature of killing, and political uses of genocide as a modern phenomenon.'" - Omer Bartov, Brown University, and author of Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity

"'[An] outstanding contribution to the field of genocide studies.'" - International Affairs

"'[A] must-read for those who want to seriously engage the problem of genocide and massacre in rigorous and systematic fashion.'" - Political Science Quarterly

"'This important study is well worth the effort.'" - Holocaust and Genocide Studies