Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine
About the Book | Additional Resources | Book Events
The world almost conquered famine. Until the 1980s, this scourge killed ten million people every decade, but by early 2000s mass starvation had all but disappeared. Today, famines are resurgent, driven by war, blockade, hostility to humanitarian principles and a volatile global economy.
(In this 4.36 mins video, Alex de Waal explains some of the main themes of Mass Starvation).
In Mass Starvation, world-renowned expert on humanitarian crisis and response, and WPF Executive Director, Alex de Waal, provides an authoritative history of modern famines: their causes, dimensions and why they ended. He analyses starvation as a crime, and breaks new ground in examining forced starvation as an instrument of genocide and war. Refuting the enduring but erroneous view that attributes famine to overpopulation and natural disaster, he shows how political decision or political failing is an essential element in every famine, while the spread of democracy and human rights, and the ending of wars, were major factors in the near-ending of this devastating phenomenon.
Hard-hitting and deeply informed, Mass Starvation (Polity Books, 2017) explains why man-made famine and the political decisions that could end it for good must once again become a top priority for the international community. You can purchase the book in the UK starting in November 2017, and elsewhere beginning in January 2018.
Additional Resources:
- de Waal’s research on famine trends that helped inform the book: a dataset of great famines, defined as a food crisis that causes elevated mortality over a specific period of time for which the upper estimates of excess death exceed 100,000, and episodes of mass intentional starvation between 1870 and 2010, including key tables and graphs.
- Additional writings by de Waal on famine from our blog.
- Recently published essays: “The Nazis Used it, We Use it,” London Review of Books (39:12, June 15, 2017). “Operation Starvation“, an Occasional Paper published by the World Peace Foundation (June 16, 2017). On the November 22, 2017, the Guardian published an article citing Alex de Waal’s argument that the UK, US and others on the Security Council; and a podcast interview with de Waal.
December:
Dec. 6: Mass starvation: tackling the political causes of famine, Overseas Development Institute
November
Nov. 19: The Future of Famine, Sussex Center for Conflict and Security, University of Sussex
October
Oct. 10: Council on African Studies Lecture Series, Yale University
Oct. 25: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
July
July 3, 2018: Mass Starvation: The History and Future of Famine, Rift Valley Forum, Nairobi
May
May 4: MA: The Return of Famine, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
May 9: Mass Starvation: 21st Century Crime, Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, sponsored Trócaire and Concern Worldwide
May 10: Cork: The Memory and Utility of Mass Starvation, UCC Center for Global Development
April
Apr. 19: National Defense Academy of Japan
Apr. 26: Global Health Initiative, Brown University, RI
March
Mar. 1: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Mar. 15: NY: International Rescue Committee
February
Feb. 1: DC: Center for Strategic & International Studies
Feb. 22: The Hague: Leiden University, 5:30 book signing, event 6 p.m
Feb 26: Galway: National University of Ireland
January
Jan. 18: Copenhagen: Danish Institute for International Studies