FROM GENOCIDE TO CONTINENTAL WAR - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1850659583 ISBN 13: 9781850659587

Synopsis

Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the largely Tutsi RPF government built a repressive regime after a short pretence at national reconciliation, while hundreds of thousands of Hutu, many of whom had perpetrated the genocide, fled to Zaire. The two parties clashed when the Rwandan government attacked the refugee camps in September 1996, forcing some of the refugees back home and killing others. Their military success led the victorious Rwandan forces to push their advantage and overthrow President Mobutu with the help of several African allies and the discreet support of the United States. The collapse of the Zairian regime marked the passing of an era and the implosion of the Cold War postcolonial order in Africa. As a result the heart of the African continent has been engulfed in a low intensity but high civilian casualty conflict involving seven countries directly and another seven indirectly. The international community has shown little interest, yet this massive conflict will probably play a key role in reshaping the continent's future in terms of border definition, governance and economic change, all of which are addressed in this work.

About this title

Review

'Mr Prunier, elaborate, anecdotal and discursive, enjoys demolishing the idea that the war is a conspiracy of English-speaking countries to prise Congo away from the French sphere of influence. He points out that despite the intervention of Congo s neighbours in 1998, this was never a world war. ... Rather, Prunier points out, the genocide in Rwanda acted as an incendiary bomb, setting fire to disputes that go back generations.' --The Economist

'If Gerard Prunier did not exist already, there would be an urgent need for him to be created. The maverick French historian is a genuine rarity, someone who has criss-crossed Africa for 37 years, who can deliver a historical sweep but masters the details. He has battled at times alone to clear the foggy lens through which the continent is viewed.' --Financial Times

'The book is remarkable not just because Gerard Prunier, who has spent his life studying African conflicts, is able to call on every academic discipline required to comprehend this gigantic disaster, but also because he was an eyewitness to much of it himself, and frequently has telling details to offer about the behaviour and motivation of key individuals. He writes, moreover, with a verve, sophistication and wit equalled, in my experience, only by fellow French intellectual Regis Debray.' --The Sunday Times

About the Author

Gerard Prunier is a renowned historian of contemporary Africa and author of the acclaimed The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide and of Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide, both published by Hurst.

Edition details

• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1850659583
• ISBN 13: 9781850659587
• Binding: Paperback