Living the transition

Inside Rwanda's conflict cycle at the grassroots

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2182185
AutoresBert Ingelaere (0000-0002-8891-9251, University of Antwerp, autor de correspondencia)
Año2009
Volumen3
Número3
Páginas438-463
Fecha de publicación2009-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Eastern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1753-1055 • E-ISSN: 1753-1063
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17531050903273735
OpenAlexW2055140055
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas12
Referencias citadas25

Political1 1. Previous versions of this paper were presented at AEGIS European Conference on African Studies, July 11–14 2007, Leiden, the Netherlands and at the conference: "Deepening Democracy in a Fragmented Society," 19–21 September 2007, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa and during a master class with Michael Woolcock (The World Bank), Institute of Development Policy and Management, University of Antwerp, September 26, 2007. transitions are predominantly analysed from the top down and focus on a narrow range of political institutions and processes. Critical rethinking of the "transition paradigm" now incorporates structural factors, such as historical legacies and ethnic composition(s) when analysing their trajectory(s). In this paper, we intend to complement top-down approaches by offering a bottom up perspective; revealing what it means for an "ordinary" person to live through a transition. We use the Rwandan transition as a case-study. An analysis of over 400 life histories of Rwandan peasants, and their subjective ranking exercises over time on a "ladder of life", portrays the path of the Rwandan transition as perceived from below. The ethnicity of the respondents sheds light on the structural factor underlying the Rwandan transition: the Hutu–Tutsi ethnic bi-polarity. Their life stories and the results of the subjective ranking exercise reveal the (perceived) interrelation of power and identity that have structured and continue to structure the Rwandan socio-political landscape and everyday life, despite the fact that ethnicity has been "officially" banned from public life

Democracy · Democratization · Ethnic group · Everyday life · Grassroots · Identity (music · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Transition (genetics · Anthropology · Gender Studies · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Political Conflict and Governance