Alex de Waal: Famine, Hunger, Starvation, and Genocide
Not to Forgive, but to Understand
231 views
What do we really mean when we call a crisis a famine? And what changes when we stop thinking of famine as simply a consequence of drought, food shortages, or climate—and begin to understand it as something that can be politically produced?
In this episode of Not to Forgive, But to Understand, I speak with Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and one of the leading authorities on famine, mass starvation, and the Horn of Africa.
Our conversation explores the difficult distinctions between hunger, starvation, and famine, and why those distinctions matter. We discuss the political and military processes through which populations can be deprived of food and other essentials for survival, and the relationship between armed conflict, climate pressures, humanitarian action, and mass starvation.
Drawing on the contemporary crises in Sudan and Gaza, de Waal helps us think about a crucial question: when people starve during war, how far can we continue to describe the resulting catastrophe simply as a humanitarian crisis?
We also discuss accountability—including what it means to treat starvation not merely as suffering to be alleviated, but as conduct for which political and military actors may bear responsibility.
It is a conversation about famine, but also about war, power, responsibility, and the political choices that determine who is able to survive.
0:00 The Coming Climate-Driven Food Crisis
1:46 Introduction to Alex de Waal
3:15 Defining Food Insecurity, Starvation, and Famine
12:38 The “Malthusian Zombie” and Overpopulation
15:39 Starvation, Genocide, and the Nazi Hunger Plan
23:28 Famine Crimes, Causation, and the Return of Starvation
37:08 Why Famine Is Political
40:22 Famine and “Famine That Kills”
44:54 Sudan, Gaza, and the Evolution of Famine Analysis
49:56 Climate Change, El Niño, and Famine
56:55 Who Is Responsible for a Global Food Crisis?
58:46 International Law and the Accountability Gap
1:01:05 The Future of Famine Studies
1:02:43 “World War X” and the Breakdown of Peacebuilding
1:06:39 Recommended Reading on Famine and Kleptocracy
2 Comments
Alex de Waal: Famine, Hunger, Starvation, and Genocide
Not to Forgive, but to Understand
231 views
What do we really mean when we call a crisis a famine? And what changes when we stop thinking of famine as simply a consequence of drought, food shortages, or climate—and begin to understand it as something that can be politically produced?
In this episode of Not to Forgive, But to Understand, I speak with Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and one of the leading authorities on famine, mass starvation, and the Horn of Africa.
Our conversation explores the difficult distinctions between hunger, starvation, and famine, and why those distinctions matter. We discuss the political and military processes through which populations can be deprived of food and other essentials for survival, and the relationship between armed conflict, climate pressures, humanitarian action, and mass starvation.
Drawing on the contemporary crises in Sudan and Gaza, de Waal helps us think about a crucial question: when people starve during war, how far can we continue to describe the resulting catastrophe simply as a humanitarian crisis?
We also discuss accountability—including what it means to treat starvation not merely as suffering to be alleviated, but as conduct for which political and military actors may bear responsibility.
It is a conversation about famine, but also about war, power, responsibility, and the political choices that determine who is able to survive.
0:00 The Coming Climate-Driven Food Crisis
1:46 Introduction to Alex de Waal
3:15 Defining Food Insecurity, Starvation, and Famine
12:38 The “Malthusian Zombie” and Overpopulation
15:39 Starvation, Genocide, and the Nazi Hunger Plan
23:28 Famine Crimes, Causation, and the Return of Starvation
37:08 Why Famine Is Political
40:22 Famine and “Famine That Kills”
44:54 Sudan, Gaza, and the Evolution of Famine Analysis
49:56 Climate Change, El Niño, and Famine
56:55 Who Is Responsible for a Global Food Crisis?
58:46 International Law and the Accountability Gap
1:01:05 The Future of Famine Studies
1:02:43 “World War X” and the Breakdown of Peacebuilding
1:06:39 Recommended Reading on Famine and Kleptocracy