Playing the Communal Card

A report from the Human Rights Watch group investigating the manner in which contemporary causes of conflict fuel violence among ethnic, religious, and racial groups in areas such as Azerbaijan, the Israeli- occupied territories, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, and the former Yugoslavia. The contributors argue that ancient hatreds are often blamed for escalating violences which have their true source in a government's loss of popularity or legitimacy, detailing the interrelationship of this dynamic with the roles of the military, police, media, other governments, and influential religious groups within the regions that are currently, infamously, making headline news. Lacks an index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.