Intersection of Genocide and Forced Displacement: A Case of the Rohingya

The chapter intersects genocide and forced displacement, arguing that genocide not only kills, rapes, bodily harms, and mentally traumatises, but also displaces people from their land to take refuge in another country, posing a threat to the transboundary as well as regional stabilities. It adds new complexities to the existing dynamics of the socio-economic-political and security landscapes between the country of origin and the country of migration. The Rohingya genocide similarly produced massive displacement that produced various complexities in South and Southeast Asian countries, as well as at a global scale. The chapter explores the nexus between genocide and forced displacement, along with their broader implications for both regional and global security, with the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar as a case. This chapter mainly follows two arguments: first, genocide not only kills and does other harms, but also displaces people, putting them into vulnerable conditions with extreme uncertainty; second, Rohingya people have been displaced not by choice but by force, rendering them a threat to national (Bangladesh and Myanmar) and regional (South and Southeast Asia) stability. This argument led us to understand the deeper dynamics of structural violence, dehumanisation, the denial of citizenship, and forced displacement as a fundamental aspect of genocidal strategy. With a decade-long collection of ethnographic details, the chapter explores the long-term consequences of regional and global stability due to forced displacement stemming from the genocidal campaign in 2017. It also focuses on potential cross-border unrest, human trafficking, and the deterioration of diplomatic relationships among states in South and Southeast Asia.