Denying the unspeakable: Redefining the denial of the Armenian genocide

History can only be proven so far as by means of pragmatic hermeneutics. With the right motives, there will always be questions to raise about historical evidence, which is the exact reason why the history of the Armenian genocide can continue to be questioned. The Turkish state maintains that the deportations and mass-slaughter of Armenians in 1915-6 were not acts of genocide, but rather wartime countermeasures against an insurgent ethnic group. The intent of the Young Turk regime to homogenize Anatolia as part of their Turko-nationalist agenda by means of extermination of Christian minorities has been repeatedly proven in numerous works. These include titles written by Armenians as well as Western and dissident Turkish historians. Despite this overwhelming amount of evidence, the debate rages on and denialists continue to publish new work. This research has attempted to create a more thorough knowledge of their methods of argumentation, which can prove an essential tool in...Show moreHistory can only be proven so far as by means of pragmatic hermeneutics. With the right motives, there will always be questions to raise about historical evidence, which is the exact reason why the history of the Armenian genocide can continue to be questioned. The Turkish state maintains that the deportations and mass-slaughter of Armenians in 1915-6 were not acts of genocide, but rather wartime countermeasures against an insurgent ethnic group. The intent of the Young Turk regime to homogenize Anatolia as part of their Turko-nationalist agenda by means of extermination of Christian minorities has been repeatedly proven in numerous works. These include titles written by Armenians as well as Western and dissident Turkish historians. Despite this overwhelming amount of evidence, the debate rages on and denialists continue to publish new work. This research has attempted to create a more thorough knowledge of their methods of argumentation, which can prove an essential tool in countering their narrative. This thesis is structured around the question to what extent the denial of the Armenian genocide can be labeled as a conspiracy theory or not.Show less

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Denying the unspeakable: Redefining the denial of the Armenian genocide