Claudine Vidal, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
An investigative work by journalist Judi Rever is an indictment, describing massacres committed by the Kagame regime so as to establish their qualification as a genocide.
Marc Le Pape, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS)
Writing about Rwanda sometimes gives the impression of crossing a minefield. It is not a question of controversies between researchers but of denunciation and intimidation.
The Rwandan model can’t be replicated easily given that it depends heavily on political dominance and tight, centralised control of patronage networks.
The transformation of the EU-Africa summit series into the EU-AU summit is more than just a change of name. It reflects the increasing recognition of the AU as an international actor.
The outcome of the race between increasingly artful electoral manipulation and limitless possible manifestations of democratic expression is never entirely certain.
With frequent irregularities, it’s easy to become cynical about elections in Africa. But polls are an essential component of the continent’s growing democracy.
The next Rwandan presidential election will take place in a week’s time. Incumbent Paul Kagame will be the certain victor, but a few other candidates have thrown their hats in the ring.
The African Union is changing the way it does business. Its new reforms, led by Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, call for fewer strategic priorities and addressing bureaucratic bottlenecks.
To improve, African countries need to find a balance between political and economic matters. This is where leadership becomes particularly important. But this is currently lacking on the continent.
The competition between the two authoritarian regimes has become a fact that, given the regional context, is here to last. It justifies repression and indefinitely postpones democratic expression.
Africa’s democratic promise of the 1990s has lost its shine. Hopes for accountable rule have faded in Uganda, Ethiopia and Rwanda. All have blocked the path to meaningful popular empowerment.
The reality of Rwanda is that there is no viable alternative to President Paul Kagame, within or outside his ruling RPF. Political rivals have died, are jailed, or have fled the country.
Recent changes to the Rwandan constitution appear to have been tailor-made for the current president. This does not bode well for the country’s future constitutional base.
Yarik Turianskyi is Manager of the Governance and African Peer Review Mechanism Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs and guest lecturer in African Governance and Eastern European Politics, University of Pretoria