On the Danger and Necessity of Democratisation

Trade-offs between short-term stability and long-term peace in post-genocide Rwanda

Bibliographic Data

ID11187175
AuthorsSebastian Silva-Leander (Harvard University, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume29
Issue8
Pages1601-1620
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01436590802528754
OpenAlexW2010844510
LanguageEN
Citations received11

This paper argues that the Rwandan government's reconciliation strategy will need to be accompanied by a process of democratisation if it is to achieve its objective of fostering long-term peace. If the discourse of national unity is not reflected in an effective sharing of political power and economic resources, it is likely to be perceived with suspicion or even rejection by the country's largely Hutu population, and could contribute to aggravating ethnic tensions. Last time Rwanda—under pressure from the international community—undertook a democratisation process, however, this contributed to exacerbating the ethnic tensions that led to the genocide. Today Rwanda and its international donors thus face a stark trade-off between short-term stability and long-term peace: the longer the country puts off necessary democratic reform for fear of upsetting stability, the greater the risk of a rejection of government policies by the population and of a renewed manipulation of ethnicity in the future

Democracy · Democratization · Development economics · Economics · Ethnic group · Genocide · Government (linguistics · International community · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Political Conflict and Governance

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