ABSTRACT
The issue of legitimacy is an important one because genocide depends upon the widespread acceptance for policies of destruction. Even the most dictatorial and repressive society depends upon the cooperation and acquiescence of the mass of its citizenry. Fear and coercion can only go so far, and what history reveals is that previous examples of genocide
were often characterized by widespread and often enthusiastic public support and participation. How then, does a genocidal state create and reinforce mass support for the elimination of a targeted population?
