Josie's Social Psychology Blog: The Rwandan Genocide

Genocide does not have one singular cause, rather it is seen as occurring when a ‘perfect storm’ of social psychological variables come together. The Rwandan Genocide is no exception with many variables contributing to the horrific events that took place. In 1994, Rwanda experienced a premeditated, systematic and state sponsored genocide with the aim of exterminating those who were ethnically identifiable as Tutsi (Klinghoffer, 1998). Between 500,000 and 800,000 people were killed in a period of 100 days, with around 77 percent of the population registered as Tutsi being murdered (Eltringham, 2004). This essay will explore some of the social psychological variables that contributed to the Rwandan Genocide such as the history and culture of Rwanda, ecological resource scarcity, the role of the elite and powerful, and the role of ordinary civilians. Finally, this essay will discuss how these social psychological variables may influence and interact with each other.

People’s identity and view of the world is often shaped by the culture lived in and the history that surrounds that culture (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). Thus, when examining the variables involved that led to the Rwandan Genocide, it is important to consider the history and culture of Rwanda. Throughout the history of Rwanda, there is a continuous distinction between the Hutu and Tutsi, with shifts in power resulting in the discrimination of one tribe and the favouritism of the other. Under the reign of Tutsi King Rwabugiri (1860-1895), ethnic differences were established when the King implemented a system in which, in return for labour, access to land was given. However, this system only applied to Hutu farmers and exempted Tutsi farmers (Eriksson, 1996). During the German colonisation (1899-1916) and later the Belgian trusteeship (1916-1961), the Tutsi were also favoured and viewed as superior (Eriksson, 1996). The Belgians increased the emphasis on the distinction of ethnic identity by issuing cards bearing the nationality designations of Rwandans (Klinghoffer, 1998). The colonisation by both Germany and Belgium contributed to an ethnic jealousy in Rwanda through preferential treatment of the Tutsi (O’Halloran, 1995). The general decolonisation in Africa led to the Hutu revolution (1959-1961) in which Rwanda underwent the transition from a Tutsi dominated monarchy to a Hutu led independent republic, which resulted in tens of thousands of Tutsi fleeing into exile (Eriksson, 1996).

It is believed that the ecological resource scarcity in Rwanda was also a contributing factor to the Genocide (Uvin, 2001). Many factors contributed to the ecological resource scarcity with which Rwanda was faced. One of these factors was the population pressure, as Rwanda was the most densely populated African country prior to the Genocide, and also had the highest population growth rate in Africa (Klinghoffer, 1998). The decline in international coffee prices contributed to the economic crisis as coffee is Rwanda’s prime export earner (Eriksson, 1996). The civil war instigated by the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) added to the economic crisis with the government devoting an increasing amount of resources to the war effort, with a total of 38 percent of the government’s budget in 1992 devoted to the military (Uvin, 1998). There are two arguments which aim to explain the relationship between social conflict and ecological resource scarcity. The first is a “hard” Malthusian view which states that once a country has exceeded its “carrying capacity” the outcome is famine and/or conflict, thus allowing nature to restore ecological equilibrium. The alternative argument is a “softer” Malthusian view which argues that ecological resource scarcity may generate social tension, while other factors, such as the history of the country, and broader social dynamics, help determine the final outcome (Uvin, 2001). As other variables raised in this essay are seen to be important factors contributing to the Rwandan Genocide, it is believed that the “softer” Malthusian view is a more accurate explanation.

One of the most common explanations of the Rwandan Genocide is the desire of Rwanda’s elite to remain powerful (Uvin, 2001). While Rwanda was in an economic crisis, the government maintained its expenditure pattern by increased borrowing and increasing Rwanda’s foreign debt (Uvin, 1998), thus providing an example of the Rwanda’s elite trying to maintain wealth and power. There were several variables that threatened the power and the regime of President Habyarimana and his inner circle known as the Akazu including, the economic crisis, financial structural adjustment, internal political discontent, the PRF invasion, and the international pressure for democratisation and the negotiation of power sharing with the RPF (Uvin, 1998). The regime was being threatened by so many variables that it resorted to using ethnic hatred as a tool to unite the majority of the population around the government, fight the PRF, and make elections impossible (Uvin, 1998).

The Akazu aimed to accelerate racist prejudice in Rwanda, first by extending the threat of the RPF to all Tutsi. This was achieved be various staged shootings by the army on the capital Kigali, which were blamed on the Tutsi (Uvin, 1998). Hate propaganda was also used to spread fear and hate against the Tutsi. This propaganda was financed by Akazu members and was in various different mediums including the state radio station (Dadrian, 2004). Also during this period, a variety of extremist political parties were formed, preaching hatred and violence, and Rwanda became more militarised with an increase in army size from 5000 to 40000. Militias and small “self-defence groups” also formed and received arms and training (Uvin, 1998). As seen in the documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, the Prime Minister during the genocide, Jean Kambanda, was encouraging everybody to carry a gun, thus encouraging the violence that was taking place and creating an environment where more people were likely to be killed (Barker, 2004). Many of these processes taken by the elite and powerful are similar to processes used in past genocides: to spread ethnic fear, organise and legitimise the forces of violence, and to desensitise people to violence (Uvin, 1998).

Although Rwanda’s elite and powerful did play a large role in the instigation of the genocide, countless ordinary civilians were also involved and persuaded to take part in the killings, perhaps accounting for the death of more innocent people then the elite and powerful (Mironko, 2006). One explanation of the involvement of ordinary civilians is the phenomenon known as the ‘in-group bias’, which argues that individuals have the tendancy to view the world as “us” and “them” or in-groups and out-groups. This happens because it is important for individuals to belong to a group, and usually individuals hold the in-group which they are a part of in a positive light while often viewing the out-group as inferior or negative, creating prejudice and discrimination. This behaviour is not always automatic and the technique of using propaganda in the Rwandan Genocide helped to enhance the negative view of the Tutsi (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). Also, when faced with an intense social crisis, individuals often turn to their own group for support and use the out-group as a scapegoat, blaming them for their problems (Staub, 1999). The ‘confirmation bias’ is also thought to have an impact on the perception of hatred and violence, as it states that individuals are more likely to seek out information that confirms their beliefs rather than information that challenges their beliefs (Woolf & Hulsizer, 2005). Therefore, in the example of the Rwandan Genocide, perhaps the hate propaganda instigated a negative view of the Tutsi, and then the staged shooting on Kigali confirmed this negative view of the Tutsi.

Genocide is not caused by one singular factor, instead genocide should be viewed as occurring when many variables transpire and interact with each other. The factors already mentioned (see Appendix A) are just some of many issues that contributed to the genocide in Rwanda, however none of these variables acted alone, and how they interacted with each other is also vital in the understanding of how the genocide occurred. The History of Rwanda is thought to have impacted on the genocide, however many countries around the world have histories of conflict in the past and have not resorted to genocide. The history of conflict alone did not ensure the genocide, but when paired with hate propaganda and staged shootings, old anger was renewed in many ordinary Rwandan people who then went on to participate in the mass killings. The elite and powerful people of Rwanda are often thought to have caused the genocide, however they may not have acted the way they did if they were not influenced by the pressure they were under caused by the economic crisis, and the RPF invasion.

The Rwandan Genocide shocked many people and raised the question of how such an inhumane act of genocide could occur when after the Holocaust the world said “never again”. The Rwandan Genocide demonstrates that genocide is not caused by one singular factor but rather occurs when a ‘perfect storm’ of social psychological factors are present and interact with each other. The history and culture of Rwanda, the economic situation of the country, the elite and powerful people, as well as the ordinary people who participated in the killings, all contributed to the Rwandan Genocide. Exactly how these factors interacted with each other to cause the genocide may never be fully understood. However, from the Rwandan Genocide, the complexity of genocide can be understood and lessons can be learned that perhaps may assist in preventing future genocides from occurring.

(Word count: 1499 words, excluding references and appendix)

References

Barker, G. (Writter/Producer/Director). (2004). Ghosts of Rwanda [DVD]. WGBH Boston: Frontline.

Dadrian, V. N. (2004). Patterns of twentieth century genocides: the Armenian, Jewish, and
Rwandan cases. Journal of Genocide Research, 6(4), 487-522.

Eltringham, N. (2004). Accounting for Horror: Post-Genocide Debates in Rwanda. London:
Pluto Press.

Eriksson, J. (1996). The International Response to Confliect and Genocide: Lessons from the Rwanda Experience. Strandberg Grafisk, Odense: Steering Committee of the Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda.

O’Halloran, P. J. (1995). Humanitarian Intervention and the Genocide in Rwanda. Research Institute for the Study of Conflict and Terrorism.

Klinghoffer, A. J. (1998). The International Dimension of Genocide in Rwanda. Washington Square, NY: New York University Press.

Mironko, C. K. (2006). Ibitero: Means and Motive in the Rwandan Genocide. In A. S. E. Cook (Ed), Genocide in Cambodia and Rwanda – new perspectives ( pp. 163-183). New Jersey: Transaction Publishers.

Staub, E. (1999). The roots of evil: social conditions, culture, personality, and basic human needs. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 3(3), 179-192.

Uvin, P. (1998). Aiding Violence: The Development Enterprise in Rwanda. West Hartford, Connecticut: Kumarian Press.

Uvin, P. (2001). Reading the Rwandan genocide. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.

Woolf, L. M., & Hulsizer, M. R. (2005). Psychosocial roots of genocide: risk, prevention, and intervention. Journal of Genocide Research, 7(1), 101-128.

Appendix A

Concept Map

Appendix B

Self Assessment

I really enjoyed working on this assignment for many reasons. I found my Blog topic really interesting and working on it was not a dreaded task like some other assignments, but also I think that using the Blog forum is a very interesting way to enhance learning and has challenged not only my computer skills but forced me to look critically and analysis things that I have never thought of before.

Theory

The theory aspect of my Blog was the most difficult for me. Before I started researching I thought that there would be psychological theories for why genocide occurred that would be simple and straight forward. However when I began to research I discovered how complex genocide is. I was very interested in the topic and after researching and watching the Ghosts of Rwanda DVD I also felt very emotional about the topic and wanted to do it justice. I found that so many things contributed to the Rwandan genocide that I found it difficult to decide what aspects to include in such a short word limit. However I think in the end I included the relevant theory to provide a basic understanding of the contributing factors to the Rwandan Genocide. I think that I also showed a good understand of how the factors that contributed to the genocide interacted with each other and how one singular factor should net be viewed as the cause of the genocide.

Research

I used various different forms of research for this assignment. Not only did I use the schools databases, but I also went to the Australian National Library to research as a lot of books have been published since the Rwandan Genocide which I found often gave a more in depth analysis of the situation as they were able to explore more and explain in more detail. I did a lot of reading just so I understood the topic more because I was personally interested and wanted to find out for myself why such a horrible thing happened so recently, however this research I did helped me to make sure that I was selecting relevant theory to include in my Blog. I also found that because we had to make regular posts on our Blog page I was researching in places that I would not have done or used in normal essays which made the topic more interesting and gave me a better understanding of the topic before I started writing my essay.

Written Expression

Using Microsoft Word the readability of my Blog was tested and it was found my Blog was a grade level of 12 using the Flesch-Kinciad scale. A grade level of 12 is appropriate as it is the level which psychology articles are today. I tried to make my Blog as easy as possible to read because I wanted people to understand to context rather then being caught up on big words, I also wanted to make my Blog easy to read so that it was enjoyable and hopefully people would read all of it and learn a little about my topic. I kept each paragraph short to help in the readability as well as trying to explain thing straight forward and kept the sentences as short as possible. I used APA format were appropriate but recognised that because it was going to be published as a Blog some of the formatting will change so was primarily just trying to ensure that it was easy to read as a Blog posting. I also used a concept map to gave readers a visual of all of the topics which I had talked about in my essay and used colours in my concept map to show hoe many of the issues where interrelated.

Online Engagement

I am very proud of my online engagement because at first I hated the idea of using a Blog page as part of our assessment. However I really stated to enjoy it and read almost everybody’s postings throughout the first part of the semester. I also found that by doing this I became more interested in the subject and think that my personal understanding of topics has improved. I received two light bulbs for my blog page which shows that it was a very active page. Below are links to my original posts which received many comments from other students: