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Statistics of Democide

Contents | Figures | Tables | Preface

Chapter 1: Summary and Conclusions [Why Democide?...]
Chapter 2: Pre-Twentieth Century Democide
Chapter 3 Japan's Savage Military
Chapter 4: The Khmer Rouge Hell State
Chapter 5: Turkey's Ethnic Purges
Chapter 6: The Vietnamese War State
Chapter 7: Poland's Ethnic Cleansing
Chapter 8: The Pakistani Cutthroat State
Chapter 9: Tito's Slaughterhouse
Chapter 10: Orwellian North Korea
Chapter 11: Barbarous Mexico
Chapter 12: Feudal Russia
Chapter 13: Death American by bombing
Chapter 14: The Gang of Centi-Kilo Murderers
Chapter 16: The Social Field of Democide
Chapter 17: Democracy, Power, and Democide
Chapter 18: Social Diversity, Power, and Democide
Chapter 19: Culture and Democide
Chapter 20: The Context of Democide Socio-Economic and Geographic
Chapter 21: War, Rebellion, and Democide
Chapter 22: The Social Field and Democide
Chapter 23: Democide Through the Years
References

Other Democide Related Documents On This Site

Nontechnical:

  • What is democide?
  • "Democide vs genocide. Which is what?"
  • "War isn't this century's biggest killer"
  • "How many did communist regimes murder?"

    Professional:

  • "Democide in totalitarian states: mortacracies and megamurderers"
  • "The Holocaust in comparative and historical perspective"
  • Graduate Syllabus on Repression and Democide

    Statistical:

  • "Power kills: genocide and mass murder"
  • "Power predicts democide"

    Books:

  • Lethal Politics
  • China's Bloody Century
  • Democide
  • Death By Government

    • STATISTICS OF DEMOCIDE

    Chapter 15

    The Crowd
    Of Lesser Murderers
    Estimates, Calculations, And Sources *

    By R.J. Rummel



    Murder will out
    ----Cervantes, Don Quixote


    Finally, there are the 156 regimes that killed in the hundreds or a few thousands. Although each may be responsible for a relatively small number, a hundred killed by one regime, a thousand by another, and perhaps ten or so thousands by still others, they all add up to near 2,350,000 people murdered.

    In Tables 15.1A to 15.1E I list estimates, sources, and calculations for all governments of sovereign states and quasi-states that have probably murdered no more than 99,999 people. Quasi-states are groups within a formally sovereign state that through force are de facto sovereign over a defined and relatively stable territory (which might be evidenced by the collection of taxes or conscription). The tables are divided as follows.


    These tables also includes non-state or quasi-state groups that have committed democide. These are groups that have no defined territory over which they have stable control (otherwise they would be quasi-states), but do have a leadership and organization. Lacking this, they simply would be a crowd or mob. For example, communal killing (as in India when upon hearing a rumor that a Moslem has raped a Hindu girl in Bombay, local Hindus may burn Moslem stores and beat and kill any Moslems they find) or riot deaths (as those in Los Angeles in 1992) are not reported here. Listed, however, is killing by such groups as international terrorists organizations, or various rebel and guerrilla groups like the Nicaraguan Contras or Castro rebels in Cuba in the late 1950s, and partisan and resistance groups fighting occupation forces during or after a war, as did the French Resistance during the Second World War.

    There is no lower limit on democide included in the table. Even one person reportedly murdered by a government should be listed. But as a practical matter governments keep their murders secret and it is only when people are killed in the dozens and sometimes not until in the thousands that this democide leaks out to foreign journalists, governments, and human rights groups. I therefore make no claim that these tables estimate all group or state democide. While I most likely have uncovered virtually all of those that have murdered in the high five digits, as of South Vietnam (1954-1975), Columbia (1948-1958), or Brazil (1964-1985), for democide in the low thousands, and especially in the hundreds and tens, I no doubt missed a large number of murdering governments and groups. Moreover, much of the killing of those governments and groups that are listed here may also have been missed. Sad to say, I believe that these tables are a very conservative reflection of the scope and magnitude of genocide and mass murder.

    To locate a particular state or group, go to overview Table 16A.1, which lists all states and groups in alphabetical order, includes their democide, and gives the table and line number of their location in Statisticis of Democide. Tables can then by located by hypertext in the tables part of the contents to Statistics of Democide. 

    NOTES
    * From the pre-publisher edited manuscript of Chapter 15 in R.J. Rummel, Statistics of Democide, 1997. For full reference to Statistics of Democide, the list of its contents, figures, and tables, and the text of its preface, click book.

    For citations see the Statistics of Democide REFERENCES


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