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On the Danger and Necessity of Democratisation: trade-offs between short-term stability and long-term peace in post-genocide Rwanda

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  • Sebastian Silva-Leander

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sebastian Silva-Leander, 2008. "On the Danger and Necessity of Democratisation: trade-offs between short-term stability and long-term peace in post-genocide Rwanda," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(8), pages 1601-1620.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:29:y:2008:i:8:p:1601-1620
    DOI: 10.1080/01436590802528754
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    Cited by:

    1. Malin Hasselskog, 2018. "Rwandan “home grown initiatives†: Illustrating inherent contradictions of the democratic developmental state," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 36(3), pages 309-328, May.
    2. Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, 2013. "Politics, political settlements and social change in post-colonial Rwanda," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-024-13, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    3. Karen Del Biondo, 2015. "Norms or Interests? Explaining Instrumental Variation in EU Democracy Promotion in Africa," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 237-254, March.
    4. Malin Hasselskog, 2015. "Rwandan developmental ‘social engineering’: What does it imply and how is it displayed?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 15(2), pages 154-169, April.

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