Disability, Political Violence and Genocide

Disability, political violence, and genocide have long been connected, as mass atrocities target disabled people and produce disability. By all accounts international legal and political mechanisms that are intended to prevent genocide have frequently failed in their mission. In the context of contemporary crises such as the Gaza genocide, as well as wars in Sudan and Ukraine, this editorial brings into focus how war, displacement, destruction of healthcare infrastructure, and deprivation of essential resources have created widespread physical, psychological, and social impairments. We summarize the contributions to this special collection of the SJDR that analyse disablement as a deliberate political strategy within contexts of settler colonialism, war, and genocide. The collection explores the dehumanization of oppressed populations, the disabling effects of environmental and social destruction, and ways in which literary work represent genocidal violence. We call for disability scholarship to engage more directly with genocide, political violence, and accountability for mass atrocities.