THE IDEA OF ETHNIC CLEANSING, of physically removing a targeted human population group either by genocide or forced migration, has existed since the dawn of recorded history. Though the United Nations debated in the early 2000s definitions of genocide and ethnic cleansing, the concept of removing an undesired population has been used by both leftist and rightist rulers, as evidenced by the policies of Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler. However, ethnic cleansing has been most apparent on the right side of politics, as it has been an extreme facet of fascism, nationalism, and totalitarianism.

The roots of ethnic cleansing can be seen as early as 586 b.c.e.: In the second siege of Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ended the problem of continued Hebrew resistance to Babylonian rule ...