Does Durkheim Make a Contribution to Understanding One Alleged Cause of Persecution

Bibliographic Data

ID12586331
AuthorsW S F Pickering (corresponding author)
Year2003
Volume9
Issue1
Publication date2003-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDurkheimian Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1362-024X • E-ISSN: 1752-2307
PublisherBerghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.3167/136202403780788830
OpenAlexW1990328411
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

Prolegomena Four caveats have to be entered at the outset. The first is that the term persecution is hard to define in a way that covers phenomena which some scholars would want to include, especially in the light of recent historical events. One calls to mind words commonly associated with phenomena of the past - martyrdom, massacre, torture, jihad. But in modern times further terms are crying for inclusion in a definition of persecution - the Holocaust, ethnic cleansing, genocide, communal violence, physical abuse, the violation of human rights. The task of trying to find a definition of persecution which would cover these and other terms is complex and demanding. It raises such difficult issues that some might want to argue that the diverse nature of phenomena that could be included under the concept of persecution makes the task of definition impossible. Indeed, the word persecution, some might go so far as to assert, is best abandoned as a workable concept. Since these issues are so large, they have to receive special attention which is beyond the scope of this paper

Criminology · Epistemology · Ethnic Cleansing · Genocide · Human rights · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Torture · Witness · Emile Durkheim and Sociology · History · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Philosophy · Philosophy, Sociology, Political Theory

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub