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A review by radiofreekitmo
They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else: A History of the Armenian Genocide by Ronald Grigor Suny
3.0
A very dense but thoroughly researched account of the Armenian genocide. I especially liked the fascinating discussion of nation-states and empires and how the book begins in the 1800's to show how different Ottoman governments interacted with the empire's Armenian population. In fact, the book actually spends most of its pages building up what happened before the genocide.
The book argues that policies of genocide originated at the top with Young Turk officials and evolved over time as the intervention of foreign powers and eventually WWI radicalized many in the government and caused them to view a mostly loyal Armenian population as a disloyal fifth column for foreign powers (especially Russia).
I had an issue with occasional odd non-sequitur statements within paragraphs and some general repetition. I also didn't like how some of the questions about motivation were discussed. Some of the usual reasons for participation were mentioned: following orders, fear, profit, and such. But I would have preferred a more nuanced approach that discussed potential motivations of the different actors involved, starting with the Kurds. The book makes a big deal of the contested relationship between the Ottoman government and the Kurds but never discusses why they played such a large part in the genocide later. The book is very much a story of elites, from top Ottoman officials to foreign diplomats to prominent Armenians.
They Can Live in the Desert But Nowhere Else has excellent notes and citations and a few well used pictures. It's not a bad introductory text but probably isn't meant for the causal reader.
The book argues that policies of genocide originated at the top with Young Turk officials and evolved over time as the intervention of foreign powers and eventually WWI radicalized many in the government and caused them to view a mostly loyal Armenian population as a disloyal fifth column for foreign powers (especially Russia).
I had an issue with occasional odd non-sequitur statements within paragraphs and some general repetition. I also didn't like how some of the questions about motivation were discussed. Some of the usual reasons for participation were mentioned: following orders, fear, profit, and such. But I would have preferred a more nuanced approach that discussed potential motivations of the different actors involved, starting with the Kurds. The book makes a big deal of the contested relationship between the Ottoman government and the Kurds but never discusses why they played such a large part in the genocide later. The book is very much a story of elites, from top Ottoman officials to foreign diplomats to prominent Armenians.
They Can Live in the Desert But Nowhere Else has excellent notes and citations and a few well used pictures. It's not a bad introductory text but probably isn't meant for the causal reader.