Crime and punishment in Star Trek : genocide and war crimes

Abstract

The term genocide was coined by Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959) from the Greek genos (family, tribe, or race) and Latin-cide (killing). Lemkin was a Pole of Jewish descent and he used this term to describe the 1915 massacres of Armenians and Assyrians. Genocide may be defined as “the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group”. War crimes constitute violations of the rules of engagement that are considered applicable during armed conflict. Since such actions are carried out by individuals or instigated on the order of individuals, individual criminal responsibility may be applied. Some examples summarized from the Nuremberg International Military Tribunals after the Second World War include the “murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps ... the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war ... the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military or civilian necessity”. Chalk and Jonassohn have noted that perceived differences between peoples may lead to one group considering another “as less than fully human: pagans, savages, or even animals”, thereby sanctioning and even legitimizing genocide and war crimes. These situations are often depicted in Star Trek. I will review these two topics and identify common elements, including the Manichean sense of the struggle of good against evil and the almost inevitable punishment of perpetrators of such atrocities. Moreover, the shows’ stories may provide insights into the potential workings of the minds of war criminals.