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Jeff Bachman Associate Professor Peace, Human Rights & Cultural Relations

Additional Positions at AU
Associate Professor, Genocide and Human Rights
Director, American University International Relations Society (AMIRS)
Degrees
PhD, Law and Public Policy, Northeastern University, M.A., Composition and Rhetoric, Rowan University, B.A., Business Management, Widener University

Favorite Spot on Campus
Outside
Book Currently Reading
The Long Utopia by Stephen Baxter and Terry Pratchett
Bio
Jeff Bachman is an Associate Professor with a focus on genocide, political violence, and human rights. He is also the Director of the American University International Relations Society. Additionally, he is Executive Secretary of the International Network of Genocide Scholars and a member of the editorial board for Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal.

Jeff is the author of The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect (Rutgers University Press, 2022) and The United States and Genocide: (Re)Defining the Relationship (Routledge, 2017). He is also the editor of Genocide Studies: Pathways Ahead (Rutgers University Press, 2024) and Cultural Genocide: Law, Politics, and Global Manifestations (Routledge, 2019), and co-editor of A Modern History of Forgotten Genocides and Mass Atrocities (Routledge, 2024). His research has also been published in Third World Quarterly, Genocide Studies and Prevention, Journal of Genocide Research, and International Studies Perspectives, among others.
See Also
Twitter
Personal Website
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • SISU-370 Topics Just/Ethics/Human Rgts: Int'l Politics & Genocide

Spring 2025

  • SIS-619 Special Studies in Int'l Pol: Genocide & International Law

  • SIS-793 Practicum in Int'l Affairs: Human Rights & Pol Violence

  • SISU-310 Topics Peace/Glb Sec/Con Res: Forgotten Genocides/Mass Atroc

Partnerships & Affiliations

  • International Studies Association
    Member

  • International Association of Genocide Scholars
    Member

  • International Network of Genocide Scholars
    Member

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

  • Genocide Studies: Pathways Ahead. Edited volume. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2024.

  • “The Geopolitics of Human Suffering: A Case Study of Media Coverage of the Conflicts in Yemen and Ukraine.” With Esther Brito Ruiz (American University PhD student). Forthcoming. Accepted for publication in Third World Quarterly, June 20, 2023.

  • The Politics of Genocide: From the Genocide Convention to the Responsibility to Protect. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, Political Violence, Human Rights Series. Published 2022.

  • “US Congress and Partisanship on Yemen Among Democrats from Obama to Trump.” International Journal of Human Rights 26, no. 8 (2022): 1353-1373.

  • “Situating Contributions from Underrepresented Groups and Geographies within the Field of Genocide Studies.” International Studies Perspectives 22, no. 3 (2021): 361-382.

  • “Four Schools of Thought on the Relationship Between War and Genocide.” Journal of Genocide Research 22, no. 4 (2020): 479-501. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2020.1756558

  • “Trends in Cases Studied and Implications for the Field of Genocide Studies.” Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal 14, no. 1 (2020): 2-20. https://doi.org/10.5038/1911-9933.14.1.1706.

  • The United States and Genocide: (Re)Defining the Relationship. London: Routledge Studies in Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. Paperback published 2019. Hardback published 2017.

  • Cultural Genocide: Law, Politics, and Global Manifestations. Edited volume. London: Routledge Studies in Genocide and Crimes against Humanity. Hardback published 2019.

  • “A ‘Synchronized Attack’ on Life: the Saudi-Led Coalition’s ‘Hidden and Holistic’ Genocide in Yemen and the Shared Responsibility of the US and UK.” Third World Quarterly 40, no. 2 (2019): 298-316. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2018.1539910

  • “Lethal Sterility: Innovative Dehumanization in Legal Justifications of Obama’s Drone Policy.” With Jack Holland. The International Journal of Human Rights 23, no. 6 (2019): 1028-1047. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2019.1592159

Work In Progress

  • Genocide: The Path Ahead. Edited volume under final review by Rutgers University Press for the book series Political Violence, Human Rights Series.
  • “Permanent Security: Unsettling Genocide Studies.” Chapter in Genocide: The Path Ahead.
  • “Bench Stacking and Biases: The ICJ’s Impartial Decision in Yugoslavia v. NATO Members in Comparative Perspective.” Paper in progress for special issue of Genocide Studies and Prevention under the theme “Limits of Legal Responses to Genocide and Mass Atrocity.”
  • War and Genocide: Hierarchies of Violence and Suffering. Under contract with Palgrave Macmillan.
  • A Modern History of Forgotten Genocides and Mass Atrocities. Edited volume under contract with Routledge for the book series Studies in Modern Global History.

Honors, Awards, and Fellowships

  • Outstanding Scholarship, Research, Creative Activity & Other Professional Contributions. Nominated by colleagues and selected as winner by Awards Committee, 2023
  • PhD Program Mentor Award. Nominated by doctoral student and selected as winner by Awards Committee, 2023.
  • Scholar-Teacher of the Year. Nominated by colleagues and selected as winner by Awards Committee, 2020.
  • Outstanding MA Program Director. Nominated by colleagues and selected as winner by Awards Committee, 2019.

Professional Services

  • Executive Secretary. International Network of Genocide Scholars (2023-)
  • Editor, Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal (2022-)
  • Podcast Host. New Books in Genocide Studies. New Books Network (2019-) https://newbooksnetwork.com/?s=bachman.

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

U.S. foreign policy and human rights, genocide, counterterrorism and human rights, media coverage of human rights, drones, torture, human rights law

Additional Information

Jeff Bachman focuses his research on genocide, counterterrorism and human rights, media coverage of human rights events, and state responsibility and individual accountability for violations of human rights law and international humanitarian law. He is especially interested in the misuse of the law as a political tool through its selective application and enforcement. Jeff has field experience working for Amnesty International in the Government Relations for Europe/Eurasia program.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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