Despite the rhetoric of the Responsibility to Protect principle (R2P), vulnerable groups continue to experience genocide. Some, such as the Yazidis in Iraq, have tried to mitigate genocide through communal self-protection. The dominance of R2P in contemporary normative discussions about responding to genocide, however, means that there has been a lack of research into the lived realities of such experiences. This article explores the phenomenon of communal self-protection during genocide, through a multiple case study analysis. It examines the pre-eminent examples of communal self-protection during three cases of modern genocide — the experiences of the Armenians at Musa Dagh during the 1915 Armenian genocide, the Tutsi at Bisesero during the 1994 Rwanda genocide, and the Yazidis in Sinjar during the 2014 Yazidi genocide. It presents a typology of communal self-protection strategies during genocide, developed from the case study analysis. The article finds that communal self-protection is only feasible as a strategy in exceptional circumstances. Even in a best-case scenario, communal self-protection offers a temporary reprieve, rather than sustainable living conditions. Vulnerable groups attempting communal self-protection are ultimately reliant on external rescue for their survival, which may not be forthcoming. Communal self-protection should therefore not be regarded as a viable strategy to mitigate genocide in any circumstance.

中文翻译：

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“有帮助吗？” 种族灭绝期间的公共自我保护

尽管有保护责任原则 (R2P) 的花言巧语，但弱势群体仍在继续遭受种族灭绝。有些人，例如伊拉克的雅兹迪人，试图通过社区自我保护来减轻种族灭绝。然而，R2P 在当代关于应对种族灭绝的规范性讨论中的主导地位意味着缺乏对此类经历的真实现实的研究。本文通过多个案例研究分析，探讨了种族灭绝期间社区自我保护的现象。它考察了现代种族灭绝的三个案例中社区自我保护的杰出例子——1915 年亚美尼亚种族灭绝期间穆萨达格的亚美尼亚人的经历、1994 年卢旺达种族灭绝期间比塞塞罗的图西人和辛贾尔的雅兹迪人的经历。 2014年雅兹迪种族灭绝。它提出了种族灭绝期间社区自我保护策略的类型，是从案例研究分析中发展出来的。文章发现，社区自我保护仅作为一种特殊情况下的策略才可行。即使在最好的情况下，公共自我保护也能提供暂时的缓解，而不是可持续的生活条件。试图进行社区自我保护的弱势群体最终要依靠外部救援才能生存，而这种救援可能不会到来。因此，在任何情况下，社区自我保护都不应该被视为减轻种族灭绝的可行策略。集体自我保护提供了一种暂时的缓和，而不是可持续的生活条件。试图进行社区自我保护的弱势群体最终要依靠外部救援才能生存，而这种救援可能不会到来。因此，在任何情况下，社区自我保护都不应该被视为减轻种族灭绝的可行策略。集体自我保护提供了一种暂时的缓和，而不是可持续的生活条件。试图进行社区自我保护的弱势群体最终要依靠外部救援才能生存，而这种救援可能不会到来。因此，在任何情况下，社区自我保护都不应该被视为减轻种族灭绝的可行策略。