Kevin Martin '11 Published in Undergraduate Research Journal
Paper earns second place of selected articles
Posted: August 8, 2012
Kevin Martin, Humanities 2011, was published in the Spring 2012 edition of the Undergraduate Research Journal. The peer reviewed Undergraduate Research Journal awarded his research second place out of seven published papers.
Kevin completed his Humanities contract on Comparative Genocide Studies and wrote his thesis on humanity's ability to overcome violence in Bosnia, Serbia, and Kosovo in the 1990's, entitled: "A Few Bad Men: An Analysis of Leadership in the Escalation of Ethnic Violence". His published article, a condensed version of the thesis, analyzed the decision-making of leaders in response to actions conducted by the international community, specifically in Srebrenica and Sarajevo during the Bosnian War (1992-1995). Below is the abstract of his article:
"Two devastating events mark the Bosnian War (1992-1995): the Siege of Sarajevo and the Genocide at Srebrenica. Beginning in April 1992, Stanislav Galic led the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS) who subjected the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sarajevo, to a thousand day siege, which devastated the city and took the lives of over 10,000 civilians. Because the VRS possessed overwhelming military during the beginning of the war, the expected outcome would be a VRS occupation of the city and elimination of its occupants. Throughout July 1995, VRS Commander Ratko Mladic surrounded UN safe zones in eastern Bosnia and orchestrated genocide at Srebrenica that took the lives of 7,500 civilians in ten days. The genocide at Srebrenica represented a departure from previous strategies utilized by the VRS. Why did the Bosnian Serbs utilize a policy of elimination at Srebrenica while merely containing Sarajevo? This paper explores the cost-benefit calculations that leaders make, when confronted with unwanted populations, during times of civil war. Interdisciplinary literature coupled with research of eyewitness testimony and trial judgments from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) suggests that civil wars are likely to escalate to genocide when leaders possess intent, opportunity, and capacity. Examining the leaders' role in military conflicts is important in light of the recent "Arab Spring" and human rights violations committed by state regimes in Libya and Syria."
Congratulations to Kevin on an outstnading research project.