AR

Genocide Denial: From Ostracizing Deniers to Punishing Witnesses

Volume 15|Issue 58| Autumn 2026 |Special Issue

Abstract

For a long time – especially in the West – deniers of genocide, particularly the Nazi Holocaust, were treated as pariahs and barred from public platforms. This later developed into the enactment of statutes to punish them harshly, in spite of laws that permit and protect freedom of expression. Yet since the onset of the genocide in Gaza, we have witnessed an era in which the top leaders of “major democracies” deny the first genocide to be televised live around the clock. What is more, key international actors have gone so far as to support the genocide and its deniers with weapons, money, and propaganda rooted in parroting blatant falsehoods. In contrast, condemning this genocide – even by its direct victims and their families – has become a grave offense. This devastating reversal of priorities and moral compass has created an unprecedented and intolerable condition, perching the world on the edge of a deep abyss.

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Abdelwahab El-Affendi (Corresponding Author)ORCID

​Professor of Political Science, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

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