‘Does the truth pass across the fire without burning?’ Locating the short circuit in Rwanda's Gacaca courts

Ingelaere, Bert

doi:10.1017/s0022278x0999005x

Cited by 120 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The sector-level number of Tutsi killed proportional to the 1994 Tutsi population can be calculated as follows: As Gacaca proceeded, its operation was criticized for lack of objectivity due to manipulation (Ingelaere, 2009;Longman, 2009;Pitsch, 2002;Wolters, 2005;Penal Reform International, 2003). When reviewing the criticism, it can be concluded that the number of survivors that was recorded by the Gacaca is likely to be more reliable than the number of recorded suspects because -in contrast to the latter -there are no obvious motives for overor underreporting survivorship 2 .…”

Section: Appendix the Calculation Of The Genocide' S Death Tollmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leave None to Claim the Land: A Malthusian Catastrophe in Rwanda?

Verpoorten

2011

SSRN Journal

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. www.econstor.eu In contrast, a number of sub-national analyses have provided some evidence for local conditional Malthusian catastrophes, although "catastrophe" is a big word since these studies have largely focused on low-intensity violence. This article adds to the small body of sub-national studies, but focuses on a high-intensity con ‡ict, the Rwandan genocide. In particular, it provides a meso-level analysis of the relation between population pressure and the intensity of violence measured by the death toll among the Tutsi across 1,294 small administrative units. The results indicate that the death toll was signi…cantly higher in localities with both high population density and little opportunity for young men to acquire land. On An earlier version of this paper was presented at a LICOS/CRED seminar in Leuven and the CSAE conference in Oxford. I received helpful comments from Giacomo De Luca, Nils Petter Gleditsch, Romain Houssa, Pieter Serneels and Henrik Urdal. I am indebted to Bert Ingelaere for bringing the Gacaca data to my attention. I owe thanks to the Rwandan National Service of Gacaca Jurisdiction and the Rwandan National Census Service for making available the data used in this study. All errors and opinions expressed remain my own. Terms of use: Documents in

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Section: Appendix the Calculation Of The Genocide' S Death Tollmentioning

confidence: 99%

Leave None to Claim the Land: A Malthusian Catastrophe in Rwanda?

Verpoorten

2011

SSRN Journal

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“…Gacaca are popular courts whose jurisdiction is based on a combination of customary approaches to conflict resolution and the conventional legal system. Overall, however, the Gacaca experiment has been found to have yielded ambiguous results (for some recent sources, see Ingelaere 2009, Rettig 2008). In addition, nationally and internationally, a taboo appears to rest on the consideration of RPF war crimes.…”

Section: Objectives and Achievements Of Vision 2020mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see

Ansoms

Rostagno²

2012

Review of African Political Economy

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This paper considers the progress made in the implementation of Rwanda's Vision 2020 programme since its launch in 2000. At the halfway point, the overall picture is quite encouraging. Rwanda's economy is thriving and reported growth figures have been impressive. The country is on track to meet the Millennium Development Goals in the fields of education and health care. Its political leaders have been praised for their quality of technocratic governance and their proactive approach to creating an attractive business climate. However, some indicators remain problematic. This paper argues that the current strategy -one of maximum growth at any cost -is counterproductive to the objective of achieving the greatest possible poverty reduction. Strong economic growth, concentrated in the hands of a small elite, results in a highly skewed developmental path with limited trickle-down potential. A possible alternative lies in an exploration of a broad-based inclusive growth model founded on existing strengths and the notion of capacity building among rural smallscale farmers. Striving for a more inclusive concept of growth would appear to be crucial not only for successful poverty reduction, but also with a view to promoting long-term stability and peace in Rwanda.[Vision 2020 du Rwanda à mi-parcours: ce que l'oeil ne voit pas.] Le présent article analyse les progrès accomplis dans la mise en oeuvre du programme 'Vision 2020 du Rwanda' depuis son lancement en 2000. À mi-terme, le tableau d'ensemble est encourageant. L'économie du Rwanda est en plein essor et les chiffres de croissance rapportés sont impressionnants. Le pays est sur la bonne voie pour atteindre les Objectifs du Millénaire pour le développement dans les domaines de l'éducation et de santé. Ses dirigeants politiques ont été félicités pour la qualité de leur gouvernance technocratique et leur approche proactive de la création d'un climat propice au business. Toutefois, plusieurs indicateurs restent problématiques. Cet article soutient que la stratégie actuelle -celle d'une croissance maximale à tout prix -est contreproductive par rapport à l'objectif qui vise à atteindre la plus grande réduction possible de la pauvreté. La forte croissance économique, concentrée dans les mains d'une petite élite, résulte en une voie de développement très inégal avec un potentiel limité de retombées. Une alternative possible réside dans l'exploration d'un modèle fondé sur une croissance inclusive sur la base d'un renforcement des capacités des petits agriculteurs. Ceci semble crucial, non seulement pour réduire la pauvreté, mais aussi en vue de promouvoir la stabilité à long terme et la paix au Rwanda.

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“…Penal Reform International focused mainly on the social dimension of the gacaca practice, Lawyers without Borders (Avocats sans Frontie`res -ASF) adopted a purely legal perspective. 15 Ingelaere Academic studies that actually do focus on the gacaca practice and provide an indepth insight in the gacaca practice are increasing, but remain limited as of 2012when the official end of the operational phase of the gacaca process (Hirondelle News Agency, 2011) will be proclaimed (Broune´us, 2008(Broune´us, , 2010Buckley-Zistel, 2005;Burnet, 2008;Clark, 2007Clark, , 2008Clark, , 2010Doughty, 2011;Honeyman et al, 2004;Honeyman and Meierhenrich, 2002;Ingelaere, 2007Ingelaere, , 2008Ingelaere, , 2009aIngelaere, , 2009bIngelaere, , 2009cIngelaere, , 2011Karekezi et al, 2004;Megwalu and Loizides, 2010;Molenaar, 2005;Rettig, 2008Rettig, , 2011Rime´et al, 2011;Takeuchi, 2011;Thomson, 2011b;Thomson and Nagy, 2010;Van Billoen, 2008;Waldorf, 2006Waldorf, , 2010. In addition, the Rwandan government as well as NGOs have undertaken impact studies to understand the actual gacaca practice (African Rights, 2008;Republic of Rwanda, 2007.…”

Section: Destabilizing the Model: The Gacaca Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The exercise undertaken here is based on a strong familiarity with actual gacaca practice. Therefore, the meta-representation presented here should be read against the background of representation(s) of the gacaca practice that are available elsewhere (Ingelaere, 2007(Ingelaere, , 2008(Ingelaere, , 2009a(Ingelaere, , 2009b(Ingelaere, , 2009c(Ingelaere, , 2011. These last representations, as well as the current meta-representation, are informed by an ethnographically driven approach through which 1917 trials that dealt with the allegations against a total number of 2573 individuals were observed and analysed.…”

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confidence: 99%

From model to practice: Researching and representing Rwanda’s ‘modernized’gacacacourts

Ingelaere

2012

Critique of Anthropology

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The publications on the modernized gacaca courts dealing with the legacy of the Rwandan genocide are abundant and they often seem to be rife with diverging analysis and conclusions. This article argues that the seeming lack of consensus does not signal the impossibility of adequately representing the gacaca courts. This article does not dwell on the crisis of representation. Instead, an effort is made to provide clarity in a disorder of representations in the context of a political anthropology that works across localized, national and international networks and dynamics. The process of establishing a representation of the gacaca courts is scrutinized. Numerical legibility, magic syllogisms and performative speech lie at the heart of the process that generates an ideological representation of the modern gacaca courts upheld by the Rwandan regime and its agents. In addition, a first generation of academic studies on gacaca is characterized by magical legalism: they depict a theoretical model that is primarily based on law or law talk. A second generation of gacaca studies mainly adopt a bottom-up perspective that is often ethnographically informed. A focus on actual gacaca practice not only constitutes an alternative research approach but also unmasks and destabilizes the process of 'making models'. But dangers exist regarding these alternative types of representational strategies as well, especially due to uncritical blurring of reigning models and actual practice. The analysis suggests new avenues of investigation and reflection in the fields of the anthropology of transitional justice, international relations and peacebuilding.

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‘Does the truth pass across the fire without burning?’ Locating the short circuit in Rwanda's Gacaca courts

Cited by 120 publications

References 29 publications

Leave None to Claim the Land: A Malthusian Catastrophe in Rwanda?

Leave None to Claim the Land: A Malthusian Catastrophe in Rwanda?

Rwanda's Vision 2020 halfway through: what the eye does not see

From model to practice: Researching and representing Rwanda’s ‘modernized’gacacacourts

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