This vital reference work looks at current areas of debate in genocide studies to provide insights into what a genocide is, why genocides occur, and what the consequences are once a genocide is recognized as such. It also illuminates how and why rational people can view the same set of circumstances as genocide or not, and how it might be possible in the future to alleviate or even prevent genocide. Articles by accomplished scholars are organized into five parts: how genocide is defined; the pre-1945 period and controversial topics such as the American Indian Wars, Australian Aborigines, Irish Potato Famine, Armenian Genocide, Ukrainian Starvation, and Holocaust; the Cold War and genocidal violence in Cambodia, East Timor, and Guatemala and against the Kurds; the post-Cold War period covering Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, and the Rohingya in Myanmar; and issues such as genocide prevention, humanitarian intervention, and the role of military personnel as perpetrators of genocide.