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Despite the vast literature on genocide and mass violence during the 19th and 20th century, one question still haunts historians and the wider public alike: Why do ´ordinary men´ use extreme violence against fellow human beings? "Empire, Ideology, Violence: The Long 20th Century" in Comparative Perspective offers innovative methods and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of extreme violence in the long 20th century. By looking at case studies from different regions and time periods the contributors shed more light on the social, political and economic contexts in which humans are inclined to use extreme forms of violence. Topics in the volume include case studies from Asia, Africa, Europe, the Ottoman Empire and the Nazi Third Reich.

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Tobias Hof is DAAD Visiting Professor for German and European Studies at the History Department at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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