A case study on the government’s exercise of power during the reconciliation process in Rwanda

Rwanda experienced one of the most horrendous atrocities in our modern history in the summer of 1994 when a genocide occurred within the country, and in the aftermath the nation had to deal with this history and rebuild its society. This essay examines the reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda with the aim of investigating potential power mechanisms during this process. The study researches the policies implemented by the government of Rwanda during this process and what effect they potentially can have on the reconciliation in the country. The focus is on the policy of National Unity and Reconciliation and two of the main instruments within this government policy, which are Gacaca and Ingando. The analytical framework for this study is Steven Lukes’ theory on three-dimensional power, which was applied as an analytical lens to examine the power exercise by the RPF government. The essay used an abductive approach to research the subject and a case study as the chosen method for the study. The results of the research confirms that there are several instances of power exercise, both within the two and three-dimensional concept of power as described by Lukes. Certain aspects of the RPF’s policies aimed at reconciliation can be seen as power exercise by the government and potentially be problematic for a successful reconciliation process