The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa

by Lemarchand, Rene

• ISBN13: 9780812220902
• ISBN10: 0812220900
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-19
• Publisher: Univ of Pennsylvania Pr

Summary

Endowed with natural resources, majestic bodies of fresh water, and a relatively mild climate, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa has also been the site of some of the world's bloodiest atrocities. In Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, decades of colonial subjugation--most infamously under Belgium's Leopold II--were followed by decades of civil warfare that spilled into neighboring countries. When these conflicts lead to horrors such as the 1994 Rwandan genocide, ethnic difference and postcolonial legacies are commonly blamed, but, with so much at stake, such simple explanations cannot take the place of detailed, dispassionate analysis. The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africaprovides a thorough exploration of the contemporary crises in the region. By focusing on the historical and social forces behind the cycles of bloodshed in Rwanda, Burundi, and the Congo-Kinshasa, Reneacute; Lemarchand challenges much of the conventional wisdom about the roots of civil strife in former Belgian Africa. He offers telling insights into the appalling cycle of genocidal violence, ethnic strife, and civil war that has made the Great Lakes region of Central Africa the most violent in the continent, and sheds new light on the dynamics of conflict in the region. Building on a full career of scholarship and fieldwork, Lemarchand's analysis breaks new ground in our understanding of the complex historical forces that continue to shape the destinies of one of Africa's most important regions.

Author Biography

Rene Lemarchand is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Florida.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
The Regional Context
The Geopolitics of the Great Lakes Region	p. 3
The Road to Hell	p. 30
Rwanda and Burundi: The Genocidal Twins
Comparative Perspectives
Ethnicity as Myth	p. 49
Genocide in the Great Lakes: Which Genocide? Whose Genocide?	p. 69
Rwanda
The Rationality of Genocide	p. 79
Hate Crimes	p. 88
The Politics of Memory	p. 99
Rwanda and the Holocaust Reconsidered	p. 109
Burundi
Burundi 1972: A Forgotten Genocide	p. 129
Burundi at the Crossroads	p. 141
Burundi's Endangered Transition	p. 158
The Democratic Republic of The Congo: From Failed State to Fragile Transition
A Blocked Transition: Zaire in 1993	p. 191
Ethnic Violence, Public Policies, and Social Capital in North Kivu	p. 205
The DRC: From Failure to Potential Reconstruction	p. 216
The Tunnel at the End of the Light	p. 249
From Kabila to Kabila: What Else Is New?	p. 260
Notes	p. 281
Index	p. 313
Acknowledgments	p. 325
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