Consolidating peace and legitimacy in Rwanda

This chapter argues that for several years preceding the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, a sustained and vicious campaign stoked hatred and fear of the minority Tutsi ethnic group. The human trauma left by the civil war and genocide was extreme. Institutions of the state had to be rebuilt from scratch, with 40% of civil servants dead or having fled, records destroyed and reserves from the central bank stolen by the fleeing government. There was no international peacekeeping force in Rwanda following the closure of France’s Operation Turquoise in August 1994. The economy in the 1980s had suffered poor macroeconomic management, state ownership of key industries, and highly protectionist import tariffs. The huge flight and return of people accompanying the conflict also created serious uncertainty over property rights. The new government in Kigali was quickly recognised as legitimate by much of the international community.