Guiding Question: To what extent do the Armenian and Cambodian genocides share similarities in progression and scope?
Personally, the fact that two of the biggest massacres in the history of mankind occurred not only in the same century, but within 60 years of each other is slightly odd. One would assume that after the Armenian genocide, those in power would have been more alert and paid greater attention to the events preceding the Cambodian genocide, so as to better handle and prepare for the situation when it arose. While there were many similarities from primarily social and military aspects which preceded the Armenian and Cambodian genocides, little true effort was made to prevent the outbreak of, and support the victims of the Cambodian genocide from 1975-1979.
The main problem for both the Armenians and Cambodians was that they existed under a government that was prone to failure. For the Armenians, this governing monarch took the form of the ‘Bloody Sultan’, and for the Cambodians, Marshal Lon Nol. In each case, the current governments were overthrown and taken over by even more corrupt, racist, single party state leaders. In Turkey (or the Ottoman Empire) the new leaders were the Young Turks. They cleansed the land of all ‘impurities’, which ninety-nine percent of the time took the form of an Armenian citizen. For Cambodia, their change came in 1973 when Pol Pot overthrew Lon Nol, creating the Khmer Rouge and establishing his dream of an agrarian utopia within Cambodia. And while corruption within the government played a vital role in the progressive similarities of both genocides, it was almost insignificant when compared to the impact that military-related ventures brought to the table. A military (or some form of militia) was involved in the majority of every major conflict and situation within the timelines of the two genocides. Using Turkey as an example, their military was used during the Armenian purges of 1914, the deportations of 19...
