Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda

by Peter Uvin

Winner of the 1999 Herskovits Award by the African Studies Association. This boldly critical book explores the contradiction of massive genocide in a country considered by Western aid agencies to be a model of development. Focusing on the 1990s dynamics of militarization and polarization that led to genocide, Uvin reveals how aid enterprises reacted, or failed to react, to those dynamics. He goes on to discuss the profound structural basis upon which the genocidal edifice was built.

Genres: Africa, History, Nonfiction, Politics, International Development, Economics, International Relations

275 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Dana Doll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Must read for development students or practitioners.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aiding Violence maintains critical relevance today in a largely static aid system, where the poor development practices that were implemented in Rwanda are not at all unique to the state but remain an outstanding example of tacit compliance compounded with catastrophic failure and its ramifications.

[Lily McDonnell]

---read for class---

[Andrew Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly professional work, of interest to scholars and researchers, but probably useless for the casual reader. There are much better works if you want to read about Rwanda, or the Rwandan Genocide - i.e. Silent Accomplice, Re-imagining Rwanda, or the works of Prunier and Des Forges

This zeroes in on specifically the development enterprise, and doesn't tell much beyond that. There are some occasional signs that the author is not a native English speaker, but hard to detect, and they do not detract from the author's reliable work.

FYI, Mr. Uvin, but 'tontine' does NOT originate in W.Africa, but in 17th c France.

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't exactly read the whole book, but I have a decent sense of what the book is about between what I did read and what the teacher talked about in class. I want to see the movie Hotel Rwanda now.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a disturbing look at the ways in which international aid contributed to the Rwandan genocide. People intereseted in "development" work will want to read this.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

A must for any development or human rights student.