From War to Genocide: Criminal Politics in Rwanda, 1990–1994 (Critical Human Rights) - Tapa dura

"Dispels myth after myth about the Rwandan genocide and Rwandan history."--Washington Post "A definitive account from an accomplished researcher and a primary witness for the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The book is a comprehensive telling of the events leading to genocide and the evolution of genocidal policy by state actors." --Choice "A landmark in the historiography of the Rwandan genocide. No serious scholar writing about the genocide can afford to ignore this trailblazing contribution."--Rene Lemarchand, author of The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa "Guichaoua's [book on the Rwandan genocide] stands out as a deeper, more expansive explanation of the complex evolution of genocide. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice "Magisterial. . . . Guichaoua makes a compelling case that the scaling up of violence to genocidal levels was progressive and tied at least in part to the escalation of the civil war and the timid and ineffectual international response to the initial violence. A profound implication of this revisionist history is that individual decisions on the part of both Rwandans and outsiders could have prevented the genocide even weeks after the onset of ethnic-based mass killing."--Foreign Affairs "An outstanding work of scholarship that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of political dynamics in Rwanda and how and why the 1994 genocide occurred there."--Catharine Newbury, author of The Cohesion of Oppression: Clientship and Ethnicity in Rwanda, 1860-1960 Dispels myth after myth about the Rwandan genocide and Rwandan history. Washington Post " Guichaoua s [book on the Rwandan genocide] stands out as a deeper, more expansive explanation of the complex evolution of genocide. . . . Highly recommended. Choice" Magisterial. . . . Guichaoua makes a compelling case that the scaling up of violence to genocidal levels was progressive and tied at least in part to the escalation of the civil war and the timid and ineffectual international response to the initial violence. A profound implication of this revisionist history is that individual decisions on the part of both Rwandans and outsiders could have prevented the genocide even weeks after the onset of ethnic-based mass killing. Foreign Affairs" An outstanding work of scholarship that makes a significant contribution to our understanding of political dynamics in Rwanda and how and why the 1994 genocide occurred there. Catharine Newbury, author of The Cohesion of Oppression: Clientship and Ethnicity in Rwanda, 1860 1960 " A landmark in the historiography of the Rwandan genocide. No serious scholar writing about the genocide can afford to ignore this trailblazing contribution. Rene Lemarchand, author of The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa "

In April 1994 Rwanda exploded in violence, with political, social, and economic divisions most visible along ethnic lines of the Hutu and Tutsi factions. The ensuing killings resulted in the deaths of as much as 20 percent of Rwanda's population. Andre Guichaoua, who was present as the genocide began, unfolds a complex story with multiple actors, including three major political parties that each encompassed a spectrum of positions, all reacting to and influencing a rapidly evolving situation. Economic polarities, famine-fueled privation, clientelism, corruption, north-south rivalries, and events in the neighboring nations of Burundi and Uganda all deepened ethnic tensions, allowing extremists to prevail over moderates. Guichaoua draws on years of meticulous research to describe and analyze this history. He emphasizes that the same virulent controversies that fueled the conflict have often influenced judicial, political, and diplomatic responses to it, reproducing the partisan cleavages between the former belligerents and implicating state actors, international institutions, academics, and the media. Guichaoua insists upon the imperative of absolute intellectual independence in pursuing the truth about some of the gravest human rights violations of the twentieth century.