Les États-Unis et le concept de génocide. Esquisse d’une relation difficile.

Abstract

The goals of this article are to trace and analyze the complex relationship that the United States has built with the notion of genocide and to identify its political, geopolitical and memorial aspects. From the first debates on the conceptualization of the crime of genocide after the Holocaust and until the ratification of the UN Convention in 1948 (debates in which the United States was heavily involved), it was clear that the definition of the term genocide was a difficult and sensitive matter. Since 1948, even while the United States did not ratify this convention until 1988, the use of the term raised questions. These uses were often related to possible diplomatic or military interventions to prevent ongoing massacres and to commemorative activities. This article discusses the position of U.S. authorities vis-à-vis the major cases of mass violence during the 20th and 21st centuries and contrasts it with the difficulties of the United States in memorializing the dark pages of its own national history.

Keywords

• memory
• policy
• genocide
• United States
• Amerindians
• African-Americans