Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
In 1994, ethnic conflict turned to genocide in Rwanda. When the world finally took notice, a million people lay dead, and the country lay in ruins. Rwanda returned from the brink guided by rulers determined to rebuild on their own terms, rather than those of a previously indifferent international community. Paul Kagame embodies the new Rwandan political philosophy. Not without flaws and critics, Kagame is key to understanding Rwanda's transition from fear and division to exceptional African statehood. Paul Kagame's life-from exiled child refugee, to guerrilla warrior and rebel politician, to president of Rwanda-is traced in this exploration of Rwanda's struggle for change. The work invites reassessment of Kagame's leadership in an African context rather than measurement against Western standards, and critiques Western involvement in Rwanda since the early 1990s. Photographs and maps supplement the text, along with a history of Rwanda's Banyarwanda people and a glossary of words in Kinyarwanda. The work includes a bibliography and an index.Synopsis
In 1994, ethnic conflict turned to genocide in Rwanda. When the world finally took notice, a million people lay dead, and the small African country lay in ruins. Rwanda returned from the brink guided by rulers determined to rebuild the country on their own terms, rather than those of a previously indifferent international community. Paul Kagame, Rwanda's first democratically elected president, embodies the new Rwandan political philosophy. Young, unconventional, not without flaws and criticsKagame is key to understanding Rwanda's transition from a country that had known only fear, division and clanbased nepotism for many years to an exceptional African state built upon traditional order and values.
Paul Kagame's lifefrom exiled child refugee, to guerilla warrior and rebel politician, to President of Rwandais traced in this exploration of the influences on Rwanda's struggle for change. Analyzing the conflicts and challenges of postgenocide Rwanda in comparison to modern parallels, the work invites reassessment of Kagame's leadership and government in an African context rather than measurement against Western standards, and critiques Western involvement in Rwanda since the early 1990s. Twentyeight photographs and three maps supplement the text, as do a history of Rwanda's Banyarwanda people and a glossary of words in Kinyarwanda, their language. The work includes a bibliography and an index.