Trajectories of authoritarianism in Rwanda : elusive control before the genocide / Marie-Eve Desrosiers, University of Ottawa.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Desrosiers, Marie-Eve, author.

Series:

African studies series ; 161.

African studies series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Authoritarianism.

Political culture--Rwanda.

Political culture.

Rwanda--Politics and government--1962-1994.

Rwanda.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 386 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Summary:

Challenging assumptions regarding the strength and control of authoritarian governments in Rwanda in the decades before the 1994 genocide, Marie-Eve Desrosiers uses original archival data and interviews to highlight the complex relations between authorities, opponents, and society. Through careful, detailed analysis Desrosiers offers a nuanced assessment of the functions and evolution of authoritarianism over time, demonstrating how the governments of Rwanda's first two post-independence Republics (1962-1990) sought and often struggled to cement their rule. Whilst the deeper, lived realities of authoritarianism are generally neglected by multi-cases comparisons at the heart of comparative authoritarian studies, this illuminating survey highlights the essential, yet subtle authoritarian strategies, patterns, and forms of decay that are too often overlooked when addressing authoritarian contexts.

Contents:

Trajectories of Authoritarianism: An Introduction

The Study of Authoritarianism, including in Rwanda

Should Rwanda Matter to the Study of Authoritarianism?

Some Background: Timelines, Beginnings and Endings

The Shape of Authoritarianism in Pre-Genocide Rwanda

Communicating Norms for Behaviour

Challenges to the Monopoly of Legitimate Violence

Competition Around and Within the Security Sanctum

The Political and Economic Grind

Individual and Local Trajectories

Conclusion.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 19 Jan 2023).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9781009224741 (ebook)

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.