Year Zero
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- Some calendars have a year zero.
The term Year Zero, applied to the takeover of Cambodia in 1975 by the Khmer Rouge, is an analogy to the Year One of the French Revolutionary Calendar. During the French Revolution, after the abolition of the French monarchy (September 20, 1792), the National Convention instituted a new calendar and declared the beginning of the Year I. The Khmer Rouge takeover of Phnom Penh was rapidly followed by a series of drastic revolutionary policies vastly exceeding those of the French Reign of Terror.
Naomi Klein argues that the U.S. policies subsequent to the 2003 invasion of Iraq constitute a "year zero" strategy. (Klein 2004)
See also
Reference
- Naomi Klein, "Baghdad Year Zero", Harper's, September 2004, 43-53.
External link
- François Ponchaud, Cambodia: Year Zero (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1978cambodia.html)