The Recent Trend of Mass Killing: What Causes Civil Wars to Escalate to Using Genocide

In the last century the international community has become more concerned about the damage that civil wars can cause. Over the years, more cases of civil war are reported to lead into genocide, and this thesis looks to figure out why this is. There are many scholarly theories about the origins of genocide, but I aim to focus strictly on those genocides that occur in reaction to a civil conflict. When looking at the root causes of conflict, I claim that civil wars are more likely to lead to the use of genocide if the origins of the conflict are based on the combination of ethnic sovereignty issues and the government’s response to a guerilla rebel force. In analyzing this theory, I explore three cases of civil war. By doing a study of two cases in which civil wars escalated to genocide and one civil war that did not experience genocide, I claim that the theory of origins being the main reason for genocide will be supported. After comparing the three cases, it appears that this theory can be supported and that the combination of ethnic tensions and guerilla warfare in a civil conflict will make that war more prone to genocide