The permanency of mass atrocities: The fallacy of ‘never again’?

Abstract

The terminology of ‘never again’ has been studied in Sociology, Cultural Studies and History, yet remains neglected in International Relations. This is despite its centrality in debates over humanitarian intervention, the Responsibility to Protect and mass atrocity prevention. To foster a conversation over the term’s use, this article uses an interdisciplinary approach to show how the meaning of ‘never again’ has changed over time. Building on this, we analyse five real-world problems: (1) the quantitative problem, (2) the nuclear problem, (3) the regime change problem, (4) the weak state problem and (5) the P5 problem. We find the blanket call of ‘never again’ oversimplifies the complexity of mass atrocity prevention and creates an unrealistic goal. Going forward, we call on those invoking the phrase to explain what they mean by it and why they are using it as part of a broader reassessment of the term’s use in International Relations.