In this article we will explore Eliticide, a topic of great relevance today that impacts various areas of study and that has generated broad interest in the academic community and society in general. Eliticide represents a crucial point to understand the functioning of different phenomena, from a historical, scientific, social or cultural perspective. Through detailed analysis, we will examine each relevant aspect of Eliticide, exploring its implications, its evolution over time, as well as possible solutions or approaches to address this challenge. This article aims to offer a comprehensive, critical and reflective vision about Eliticide, in an effort to provide knowledge and generate an informed debate on this important topic.
Eliticide or elitocide is "the killing of the leadership, the educated, and the clergy of a group." It is usually carried out during the beginning of a genocide to cripple a possible resistance movement against its perpetrators. Eliticide occurred in the Armenian genocide, the German–Soviet occupation of Poland, the Cambodian genocide, the Isaaq genocide, Bolshevik Red Terror in Russia and instances of eliticide during the Yugoslav Wars. The term was first used in 1992 by British reporter Michael Nicholson to describe the Bijeljina massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina: during the Bosnian War, local Serbs would point out prominent Bosniaks to be killed afterwards by Serb soldiers.
Eliticide is also carried out in cases of political revolutions supported by the people and targeted against the elites of the overthrown establishment, rather than being unpopular and indiscriminatory, as in the above cases of genocide. For example, during the French Revolution the revolutionaries executed members of the feudal Ancien Régime by the public use of the guillotine.