Understanding the Crisis in Kivu: Report of the Codesria Mission to the Democratic Republic

by Mahmood Mamdani

In trying to fathom the present crisis in the DRC, Mamdani's study concentrates on the Great Lakes region, particularly the region of Kivu and the Kiyarwanda-speaking population. These people were historically divided into three major groups - the Banyamulenge, the Banyamasisi, and the Banyaruchuru, popularly know as Hutu and Tutsi. The author situates the crisis within the context of local and foreign interests and division, primarly within the context of post- genocide Rwanda, and the citizenship crisis - civic and ethnic - in Kivu. He then presents a programme of action - local and international - for Rwanda and Kivu. For Rwanda, he urges global responsibility, which means coming to terms with the genocide in Rwanda; and a course of action which balances justice, democracy, and reconciliation. For Kivu he sets forth a full research agenda on the crisis of state in the DRC. Mahmood Mamdani is a distinguished professor of anthropology and has published widely on conflict, human rights

52 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Mahmood Mamdani is Herbert Lehman Professor of Government and Professor of Anthropology and of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (MESAAS) at Columbia University and Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Kampala. He is the author of Citizen and Subject, When Victims Become Killers, and Good Muslim, Bad Muslim.

Mamdani is married to Mira Nair, the acclaimed Indian film director and producer. Mamdani and Nair's only son, Zohran Mamdani, is the mayor-elect of New York City.