Christian Gerlach is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bern. His award-winning titles in German include Calculated Murder: The German Economic and Extermination Policy in Byelorussia (third edition, 2001), War, Food, Genocide: German Extermination Policies in the Second World War (second edition, 2001), and The Last Chapter: The Murder of Hungarian Jews, 1944–45 (with Götz Aly, second edition, 2004).

• 1. Introduction: extremely violent societies; Part I. Participatory Violence: 2. A coalition for violence: mass slaughter in Indonesia, 1965–66; 3. Participating and profiteering: the destruction of the Armenians, 1915–23; Part II. The Crisis of Society: 4. From rivalries between elites to a crisis of society: mass violence and famine in Bangladesh (East Pakistan), 1971–77; 5. Sustainable violence: strategic resettlement, militias and 'development' in anti-guerrilla warfare; 6. What connects the fate of different victim groups? The German occupation and Greek society in crisis; Part III. General Observations: 7. The ethnization of history: the historiography of mass violence and national identity construction; 8. Conclusions.

'In this pathbreaking book, Christian Gerlach undermines the tunnel-vision of mainstream genocide research. Introducing a challenging new theoretical approach, Gerlach convincingly demonstrates the messy, complex patterns of mass violence in the modern world. Everyone interested in these issues will enrich their understanding by engaging with his arguments and case-studies.' Martin Shaw, University of Sussex

Christian Gerlach is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bern. His award-winning titles in German include Calculated Murder: The German Economic and Extermination Policy in Byelorussia (third edition, 2001), War, Food, Genocide: German Extermination Policies in the Second World War (second edition, 2001), and The Last Chapter: The Murder of Hungarian Jews, 1944–45 (with Götz Aly, second edition, 2004).

• 1. Introduction: extremely violent societies; Part I. Participatory Violence: 2. A coalition for violence: mass slaughter in Indonesia, 1965–66; 3. Participating and profiteering: the destruction of the Armenians, 1915–23; Part II. The Crisis of Society: 4. From rivalries between elites to a crisis of society: mass violence and famine in Bangladesh (East Pakistan), 1971–77; 5. Sustainable violence: strategic resettlement, militias and 'development' in anti-guerrilla warfare; 6. What connects the fate of different victim groups? The German occupation and Greek society in crisis; Part III. General Observations: 7. The ethnization of history: the historiography of mass violence and national identity construction; 8. Conclusions.

'In this pathbreaking book, Christian Gerlach undermines the tunnel-vision of mainstream genocide research. Introducing a challenging new theoretical approach, Gerlach convincingly demonstrates the messy, complex patterns of mass violence in the modern world. Everyone interested in these issues will enrich their understanding by engaging with his arguments and case-studies.' Martin Shaw, University of Sussex

Christian Gerlach is Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Bern. His award-winning titles in German include Calculated Murder: The German Economic and Extermination Policy in Byelorussia (third edition, 2001), War, Food, Genocide: German Extermination Policies in the Second World War (second edition, 2001), and The Last Chapter: The Murder of Hungarian Jews, 1944–45 (with Götz Aly, second edition, 2004).

• 1. Introduction: extremely violent societies; Part I. Participatory Violence: 2. A coalition for violence: mass slaughter in Indonesia, 1965–66; 3. Participating and profiteering: the destruction of the Armenians, 1915–23; Part II. The Crisis of Society: 4. From rivalries between elites to a crisis of society: mass violence and famine in Bangladesh (East Pakistan), 1971–77; 5. Sustainable violence: strategic resettlement, militias and 'development' in anti-guerrilla warfare; 6. What connects the fate of different victim groups? The German occupation and Greek society in crisis; Part III. General Observations: 7. The ethnization of history: the historiography of mass violence and national identity construction; 8. Conclusions.

'In this pathbreaking book, Christian Gerlach undermines the tunnel-vision of mainstream genocide research. Introducing a challenging new theoretical approach, Gerlach convincingly demonstrates the messy, complex patterns of mass violence in the modern world. Everyone interested in these issues will enrich their understanding by engaging with his arguments and case-studies.' Martin Shaw, University of Sussex