The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda

by Scott Straus

Winner of the Award for Excellence in Government and Political Science (AAP) The Rwandan genocide has become a touchstone for debates about the causes of mass violence and the responsibilities of the international community. Yet a number of key questions about this tragedy remain unanswered: How did the violence spread from community to community and so rapidly engulf the nation? Why did individuals make decisions that led them to take up machetes against their neighbors? And what was the logic that drove the campaign of extermination? According to Scott Straus, a social scientist and former journalist in East Africa for several years (who received a Pulitzer Prize nomination for his reporting for the Houston Chronicle), many of the widely held beliefs about the causes and course of genocide in Rwanda are incomplete. They focus largely on the actions of the ruling elite or the inaction of the international community. Considerably less is known about how and why elite decisions became widespread exterminatory violence. Challenging the prevailing wisdom, Straus provides substantial new evidence about local patterns of violence, using original research―including the most comprehensive surveys yet undertaken among convicted perpetrators―to assess competing theories about the causes and dynamics of the genocide. Current interpretations stress three main causes for the genocide: ethnic identity, ideology, and mass-media indoctrination (in particular the influence of hate radio). Straus's research does not deny the importance of ethnicity, but he finds that it operated more as a background condition. Instead, Straus emphasizes fear and intra-ethnic intimidation as the primary drivers of the violence. A defensive civil war and the assassination of a president created a feeling of acute insecurity. Rwanda's unusually effective state was also central, as was the country's geography and population density, which limited the number of exit options for both victims and perpetrators. In conclusion, Straus steps back from the particulars of the Rwandan genocide to offer a new, dynamic model for understanding other instances of genocide in recent history―the Holocaust, Armenia, Cambodia, the Balkans―and assessing the future likelihood of such events.

Genres: History, Africa, Rwanda, Nonfiction, Politics, Anthropology, War

296 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Franck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional
The best analysis I have read on the Rwandan genocide

[Elly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. I would recommend anyone who is interested in learning more about the Rwandan genocide, or genocide in general, to read this book. It definitely challenges preconceived notions on what drives people to genocide. It's a little dry but worth it.

[Mollie Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent statistical data
limited representative total though

review for thesis
proves motivations among ordinary perpetrators
demonstrates requirement of war as precursor/backdrop

[Susan Sample · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a "must-read" for anyone interested in the Rwandan genocide or genocide studies more generally. The author takes on more than one big question in this study of the political and social mechanisms that account for the Rwandan genocide. First, he makes a strong functionalist argument for the genocide in contrast to the more common intentionalist view. In other words, he demonstrates that the genocide could have occurred as it did even if no firm decision to engage in genocide was taken by the hardliners in advance of the assassination of the president. Ironically, this makes the tragically negligent response of the international community seem that much worse, since a firm international commitment to stabilize the highly insecure situation may well have given the upper hand to the moderates (who were otherwise quickly defeated) and stifled the insecurity the drove the genocidal dynamic. Second, he makes an important contribution to existing literature on the motivations of genocidaires. In the Rwandan case, the genocide proceeded rapidly by activating a substantial portion of adult men of the country, and Strauss tests a series of hypotheses about how that happened through interviews of perpetrators. His findings do not support the generalized assumption of pre-existing murderous hatred against all Tutsis by all Hutu (a familiar argument that is akin to Goldhagen's argument about Germany prior to the Holocaust), but adds to what we know about "ordinary men" in important (and disconcerting) ways.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This academic investigation of the situational and individual factors that contributed to the Rwandan Genocide is systematic and exhaustive. It utilizes a close look at the unfolding of events, records from the genocide, hundreds of interviews with genocidiares (killers)' and statistical analysis. While not as compelling of a read as Gourevitch's "We wish to inform you...", it provides a distinct empirical perspective that diverges in a few key arguments/conclusions from previous accounts:
1) the genocide was not the result or evidence of chaos, as it is often thought by uneducated/ Non-expert audiences, but instead a strong and highly organized state.
2)similarly, the genocide was not rooted in 'ancient tribal hatred' between Hutus and Tutsis, but rather in recent (colonial) conceptualizations of race and the power dynamics and conflicts that resulted from systems that froze in place what were once fluid categories.
3) on the other hand, Strauss asserts that the genocide was not entirely planned, but instead resulted from an increasingly radicalized group who were desperate to retain power at all costs.
4) uncertainty and fear played a key role in motivating genocidiares.

As a social psychologist, I found this book an informative and rigorous analysis, but the academic form and style will drive most students and lay readers away. If one is interested in learning about the genocide and the historical context leading up to it, as well as some regional and international spillover, in a more compelling form, I recommend Gourevitch's book instead.

[Ownbymom Ownby · Rating 5 out of 5]

One would think that, by now, we would understand what happened in the Rwandan genocide. After all, it happened in 1994. But so many critical details are missing. How many people were killed? Who shot down President Habyarimana's airplane? And perhaps most importantly, why did ordinary Hutu begin killing their Tutsi neighbors? There are many excellent examinations of the genocide available, but Straus's stands out because of his social science approach. With statistical analysis on his side he is able to make clear arguments about the mindset of people in the rural areas.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very good academic analysis of the Genocide in Rwanda. It is not an interesting narrative but a very useful resource for those looking for a scholarly approach. It also explores a lot of common myths about the motivation of killers in the genocide and debunks many of the presumed driving factors.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the best theories on the Rwandan Genocide. Accurately and logically bridges how the national leaders ordered genocide and why that order was so thoroughly carried out on the local level. I just wish the theory was generalizable to other genocides, but sadly it is too unique to warrant a one-for-one translation to the Holocaust or Khmer Rouge, etc.

[Roxani]

I read this book for my course on Violent Conflict in Africa and was fascinated both by the research question of seeking to understand individuals' motivations to participate in genocide and mass atrocities, and by the methodology of arriving at answers to this question.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Valuable for understand the Holocaust, the Rwandan genocide, or other mass killings.

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for learning about the Rwandan genocide.