Genocide has never been talked about more than it is today. Representatives of every group whose members have been victims of atrocities are quick to claim the genocide label. In Western countries a new kind of anti-genocide activism has come into its own, urging politicians to act. Although leaders remain reluctant to acknowledge the occurrence of genocide, genocide prevention is now an institutionalized policy objective of the United Nations and the United States. At the same time, genocide has been established as an academic field, many historical episodes have been uncovered, major works have appeared, conferences have been held, and student interest continues to expand.

What, if anything, does this level of interest tell us about the extent, character and causes of genocide in the twenty-first-century world? Does growing genocide consciousness reflect a still-high or even heightened danger of genocide, or merely greater awareness of dangers that may actually be less than in the past? Do episodes such as those in Rwanda and Darfur – the focal points of recent debate – tell us that genocide today is the same kind of problem that it was in the eras of the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust? Or do they indicate a new pattern? How do growing genocide awareness and policy affect the actual incidence of genocide?