Soviet Mass Violence

CFP: Journal of Genocide Research

Call for papers

Thematic Issue of the Journal of Genocide Research (JGR)

New Perspectives on Soviet Mass Violence

The study of Soviet mass violence has for a long time been overshadowed by ideological disputes and battles of the Cold War. Even Raphael Lemkin, the self-proclaimed founder of the UN Genocide Convention and pioneer of the study of mass violence, was an ardent anticommunist and recommended the United States to sponsor an international special committee to investigate Soviet genocide (See Anton Weiss-Wendt's article "Hostage of Politics: Raphael Lemkin on 'Soviet Genocide'" in the Journal of Genocide Research 7 (2005), Nr. 4, 551-559). Furthermore, Ernst Nolte's apologetic comparison between the crimes of Hitler and Stalin that led to the West German Historikerstreit (historians' quarrel) in 1986 has further politically charged and complicated a serious academic investigation of Soviet mass violence. Since the end of the Cold War, a number of unbiased studies have broadened our knowledge about genocide, ethnic cleansing and other forms of mass violence in the former Soviet Union. However, several aspects as for example the deportation of the Chechens and other Caucasian peoples and the Ukrainian famine 1932/33 need more empirical research.

To foster the discussion on Soviet mass violence, the editors of the Journal of Genocide Research are therefore inviting papers for a thematic issue devoted to this topic. The editors welcome original and innovative articles dealing with all possible aspects of Soviet mass violence from the beginning of the civil war to the end of the Cold War.

Proposals (max. 2 pages) for papers should be submitted with a short biographical sketch by July 15 to both editors:

Dominik J. Schaller ([mailto]dominik.schaller@uni-heidelberg.de[/mailto])

Jürgen Zimmerer ([mailto]j.zimmerer@sheffield.ac.uk[/mailto])

The articles, which should be a maximum of 8500 words including documentation, will be due at December 10, 2008.

After initial editor screening, all submissions will undergo peer review.

Please share this information with interested colleagues!

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Journal of Genocide Research:
[url]http://www.informaworld.com/jgr[/url]

International Network of Genocide Scholars:
[url]http://www.inogs.com[/url]

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Dominik J. Schaller
Historisches Seminar
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
Grabengasse 3-5
69117 Heidelberg
Germany