Samantha Besson and Henry Laurens (eds.)
Genocide: Law and History of the “Crime of Crimes”
A rare dialogue between legal scholars and historians to reflect on genocide, combining an assessment of international case law with a review of the current state of scholarship.
Declared a “crime under international law” in 1946 and prohibited by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in 1948, genocide occupies a unique place in international law. Its definition has remained unchanged, unlike those of other international crimes such as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Long rarely invoked in courts, it initially gave rise to limited case law and was thus primarily valued for its historical significance and its primarily preventive role.
This situation is changing, however. Genocidal violence has not disappeared, and the charge of genocide is now increasingly being brought before the courts—both at the national and international levels—against individuals as well as states. This development calls for a reexamination of the concept in light of the law and history of this “crime of crimes.”
Emerging from a dialogue between legal scholars and historians, this book explores four essential questions: the origins of the crime of genocide, its perpetrators, its conditions, and its memory. By bringing together these perspectives, it examines the construction, uses, and contemporary challenges of a concept that has become central to the understanding and prevention of mass violence.
With contributions by Omer Bartov, Samantha Besson, Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, Christian Ingrao, Henry Laurens, Mark Levene, Rafaëlle Maison, Jean-Clément Martin, Guénaël Mettraux, and William Schabas.
Besson, S., and Laurens, H. (eds.), Genocide: Law and History of the “Crime of Crimes, ” Paris, Collège de France, “Conférences” series, 2026, 208 pp.
ISBN: 978-2-7226-0893-1
Price: €29
Publication date: October 22, 2026
