The Why Project
← Ask Why

Essays

Long-form writing that takes contested words apart — genocide, terrorism, liberation — using the same analytical frame as the case dossiers, with sources cited inline.

Liberation, terrorism, or genocide?

Insurgencies and anti-colonial wars produce some of history's most eliminationist language — yet the genocide label lands on almost none of them. Why the line is intent and protected-group status, not brutality.

23 min readRead →

What is Genocide

A plain-language guide to the 1948 Genocide Convention — the five acts, the two-element test, and how courts distinguish genocide from other mass atrocities.

6 min readRead →

Heat of war, or genocidal intent?

Annihilationist rhetoric from wars and campaigns most people do not call genocide — and why a shocking quote is not enough to prove the second.

16 min readRead →