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The Exemplary Citizen on the Exemplary Hill: The Production of Political Subjects in Contemporary Rural Rwanda

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  • An Ansoms
  • Giuseppe D. Cioffo

Abstract

Since the end of civil war and genocide in 1994, the Rwandan government has embarked on an ambitious plan to reshape the rural setting. Through a strategy of agrarian modernization, the Rwandan government is reorganizing rural space and production in order to foster economic growth. This article looks at how this spatial and productive reconfiguration contributes to the production of political subjects in post‐genocide Rwanda, and how this is constitutive of the political power of government. First, it points to the way in which the state authorities’ discursive practices utilize the concept of ‘exemplary citizenship’ to reinforce policy adherence. Second, it analyses how the reconfiguration of access to productive resources is intertwined with the reinforcement of the state's authority. Hidden behind the discourse of modernization and rationalization, the reorganization of space helps central authorities to gain a greater degree of control over rural settings. Finally, it analyses the way in which the reorganization of rural space contributes to the construction of political subjectivity. Political subjects are defined through adherence to or rejection of the government's rhetoric of economic development and good citizenship as redefining moments of public life.

Suggested Citation

  • An Ansoms & Giuseppe D. Cioffo, 2016. "The Exemplary Citizen on the Exemplary Hill: The Production of Political Subjects in Contemporary Rural Rwanda," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(6), pages 1247-1268, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:devchg:v:47:y:2016:i:6:p:1247-1268
    DOI: 10.1111/dech.12271
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. World Bank, 2011. "Rwanda - Education Country Status Report : Toward Quality Enhancement and Achievement of Universal Nine Year Basic Education - An Education System in Transition; A Nation in Transition," World Bank Publications - Reports 2733, The World Bank Group.
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    Cited by:

    1. Shakirah Esmail Hudani, 2020. "The Green Masterplan: Crisis, State Transition and Urban Transformation in Post‐Genocide Rwanda," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(4), pages 673-690, July.
    2. Sebastian Heinen, 2022. "Rwanda’s Agricultural Transformation Revisited: Stagnating Food Production, Systematic Overestimation, and a Flawed Performance Contract System," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(10), pages 2044-2064, October.
    3. Karolin Andersson & Katarina Pettersson & Johanna Bergman Lodin, 2022. "Window dressing inequalities and constructing women farmers as problematic—gender in Rwanda’s agriculture policy," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1245-1261, December.

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