140073 SE VM4 / VM1 - Rwanda's Development(s) Revisted (2016W)

Across the world, politics in Rwanda has raised many discussions on developments taking place within the country’s confines. Most notorious for the genocide that took place there in 1994 which raised questions around the nature of the conflict and the role of the international community, today events in Rwanda have entered the debates around participation and representation.

Ever since independence, structuring development and transformation processes in Rwanda has been significantly impacted by the challenge of contending with various forms of social stratification, among them ethnicity. Whilst some world leaders labelled the genocide as ‘typical’ of African politics, developments in the country have also pushed the envelope of what is conceivable further open. Unlike any other country, Rwanda has been privy to development discourses and interventions on a massive scale. Developments and events have however not taken place in a vacuum, but rather under the eyes of international players whose role in the 1990s remains particularly controversial. Rwandan politics has therefore drawn the attention of anthropologists and political scientists alike. Irrespective of their discipline, scholars’ appraisal of developments differs widely. This seminar will revisit political developments in Rwanda taking into accounts its dynamic landscape.