Genocidal escalations begin well before the genocidal regime takes power.

Evidence

Steps along a continuum of destruction often start long before those who lead a society to genocide come to power. In Turkey, the legal rights of Ar­ menians and other minorities were limited for centuries. Armenians were the frequent victims of violence. From 1894 to 1896, over 200,000 Armenians were killed by special troops created mainly for this purpose (Greene, 1895; Toynbee, 1915). In Rwanda, about 50,000 Tutsis were killed in 1959, with massacres of large numbers of Tutsis in the early 1960s and 1970s and spo­ radic killings of smaller numbers after that (des Forges, 1999; Prunier, 1995). — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 131

Categorization

• QUESTION: The pre-ruin victimization of Armenians and Tutsis suggests outgroup targeting has longer-run structural roots worth chasing in the Glick chapter.
• XREF: connects to: Totalitarian prophecy becomes foolproof only once the movement holds power; Genocidal ideology is constructed after the plunder motive, not before it. — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 127; Genocidal threats were issued openly in parliament before war began — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and…, 71 (+6 more)

Broader Connections

• Genocidal threats were issued openly in parliament before war began #exemplifies (0.85) — Michael A. Sells, The Bridge Betrayed, 71
• Enemies are dehumanized into vermin before military force can be unleashed #exemplifies (0.82) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1451
• Genocidal ideology is constructed after the plunder motive, not before it. #contradicts (0.80) — Theodor W. Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Dialectic of Enlightenment, 127
• Ruling classes mobilize their full reserves before revolutionaries reach power. #exemplifies (0.76) — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 2300
• Genocidal policy often originates with mid-level officials and is ratified from above. #qualifies (0.75) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 652
• Powerholders escalate through a structured chain of signals before carrying out sanctions #exemplifies (0.74) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 632
• Successful insurrection requires lengthy ideological preparation beforehand #corroborates (0.73)
• Totalitarian prophecy becomes foolproof only once the movement holds power #qualifies (0.72)
• Hegemony must be won before power is seized, not merely imposed by force after #expands (0.72)