The Recurring Great Lakes Crisis: Identity, Violence, Power

Since the early 1990s, the African Great Lakes region has experienced a series of traumas that have profoundly disrupted its geopolitical, economic, social, and demographic stability. Despite numerous peace accords, political compromises, and international interventions, the region has yet to eliminate the tensions that regularly manifest in hate and violence. Featuring contributions from historians, sociologists, anthropologists, and political scientists, this collection accounts for the omnipresent "metastases of hatred and violence" in the Great Lakes region. Through a series of detailed case studies, contributors outline the genealogy and historicity of violence in the region while remaining sensitive to the singular, contingent experiences of each country.Foreword vii Notes on Contributors ix Introduction Rethinking the Great Lakes Crisis: War, Violence and Political Recompositions in Africa Richard Banégas 1 Part 1 Genealogies of Violence The Recurrence of Violence in Burundi: Memories of the "Catastrophe" of 1972 Jean-Pierre Chrétien 26 Rwanda: The Catholic Church and the Crisis. Autopsy of a Legacy Marcel Kabanda 61 Part 2 Social Ruptures and Political Recompositions Congo-Kinshasa from One War to Another: Sociopolitical Practices and Political Imaginaire Alphonse Maindo 99 Political Crisis and Social Reconfigurations: the Problem of the "Disaster Victims" in Burundi Alexandre Hatungimana 136 Rwanda's Security Trap and Participation in the 1994 Genocide Scott Straus 168 Part 3 Local Issues and International Perspectives The "Ethnic" Conflict in Ituri District: Overlapping of Local and International in Congo-Kinshasa Gérard Prunier 180 Democracy, Security and Governance in Uganda: the Contradictions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction Richard Banégas 205 Conclusions: Diverse Situations/Interconnected Crises Jean-Pierre Chrétien 233Originally published: 2008