Institutional Failure and Ethnic Conflicts in Burundi

Bibliographic Data

ID2595313
AuthorsLéonce Ndikumana (0000-0002-3801-9626, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume41
Issue1
Pages29
Publication date1998-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAfrican Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-0206 • E-ISSN: 1555-2462
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/524680
OpenAlexW2003005555
LanguageEN
Citations received22
References cited11

Since the military coup d'etat of October 21, 1993 Burundi is experiencing a genocide, albeit at a slow pace, while the leaders engage in a series of ‘dialogue of the deaf.’ Meanwhile, half-truths are being told about the causes of the crisis and inappropriate solutions are being proposed for an incorrectly diagnosed structural social malaise. This paper examines the causes of ethnic violence by emphasizing the impact of institutional failure. The ‘privatization’ of key institutions such as the military, the judiciary, and the education system by ethnic and regional entities, has resulted in a divorce between state institutions and the population. Violence is created and maintained in a vicious cycle of frustration–claims and counterclaims–and repression as the rulers try to hold on to power while the oppressed categories of the population claim for their fair share in national resources. Restoration of peace and stability will require an extensive reform of key institutions to ensure equity and protection of rights and property for all citizens

Development economics · Economics · Ethnic conflict · Ethnic group · Geography · Political science · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Corruption and Economic Development · Law · Political Conflict and Governance

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