Understanding the Political Motivations That Shape Rwanda's Emergent Developmental State

Twenty years after its horrific genocide, Rwanda has become a model for economic development. At the same time, its government has been criticised for authoritarian tactics and the use of violence. Missing from the often polarised debate are the connections between these two perspectives. Synthesisi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New political economy 2016-01, Vol.21 (1), p.119-144
Main Authors: Mann, Laura, Berry, Marie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Africa
Authoritarianism
Capitalism
developmental state
Economic development
Fieldwork
Genocide
Infrastructure
Political economy
Political power
political settlement
Public infrastructure
Rwanda
Sectarianism
Security
Social control
Social services
Social services delivery
State power
Studies
systemic vulnerability
Violence
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Summary:Twenty years after its horrific genocide, Rwanda has become a model for economic development. At the same time, its government has been criticised for authoritarian tactics and the use of violence. Missing from the often polarised debate are the connections between these two perspectives. Synthesising existing literature on Rwanda in light of a combined year of fieldwork, we argue that the Government of Rwanda is using the developmental infrastructure to deepen state power and expand political control. We first identify the historical pressures that have motivated the ruling Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) to reimagine the political landscape. Sectarian unrest, political rivalry, wider regional insecurity and aid withdrawal have all pressured the RPF to identify growth as strategic. However, the political transformation extends beyond a prioritisation of growth and encompasses the articulation of ideologies and new mindsets, the provision of social services and infrastructure and the reordering of the social and physical layout of the territory. Growth and social control go hand in hand. As such, this paper's main contribution is to bring together the two sides of the Rwandan debate and place the country in a broader sociological literature about the parallel development of capitalist relations and transformations in state power.
ISSN:1356-3467
1469-9923
DOI:10.1080/13563467.2015.1041484