A review by kindledspiritsbooks
A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power

4.0

You might not be surprised that I found a book about genocide depressing, but it’s not for the reason you think! While obviously Power’s thorough analysis of major genocides in the 20th century, including Armenia, Cambodia, the Holocaust, Srebrenica and many more. While these atrocities are horrifying in themselves (though I did appreciate that Power didn’t dwell too much on gruesome details of torture, instead relying on the emotional accounts of survivors’ trauma to give weight to the horrors they had endured), what I found most dispiriting was the international community’s seeming indifference to the suffering of those beyond their own borders. Although ‘never again’ has been the mantra of most Western governments in the aftermath of the Holocaust, well-documented cases of genocide have been allowed to continue virtually unopposed since then. Focusing on American foreign policy responses, Power analyses why this is the case, exposing the weak arguments that lie at the heart of the case for non-intervention and also presenting her own arguments for why taking a strong stance against genocide is not only the right thing to do morally but is also essential to protecting US interests in the long term. She also explores the origins of the UN Convention on Genocide and the International Criminal Court, shining a light on one of history’s lesser known heroes, Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer and a linguist who coined the term genocide and campaigned relentlessly to have it recognised as a crime under international law. His passion and single-mindedness is astounding and I couldn’t believe I had never heard of him before. He and many other passionate campaigners against atrocity were the bright spots of what could have otherwise been a bleak read. While there are still Lemkins in the world pushing governments to live up to their promises of ‘never again’, there is still hope that genocides can be stopped in their tracks.