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Beyond dichotomies. The quest for justice and reconciliation and the politics of national identity building in post-genocide Rwanda.
Sasaki, Kazuyuki
Sasaki, Kazuyuki
Publication Date
2011-05-26
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The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a Creative Commons Licence.
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Accepted for publication
Institution
University of Bradford
Department
Department of Peace Studies
Awarded
2009
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Abstract
Justice and reconciliation are both highly complex concepts that are often
described as incompatible alternatives in the aftermath of violent conflicts,
despite the fact that both are fundamental to peacebuilding in societies divided
by the legacies of political violence, oppression and exclusion. This thesis
examines the relationship between justice and reconciliation, pursued as
essential ingredients of peacebuilding. After advancing an inclusive working
conceptual framework in which seemingly competing conceptions regarding
justice and reconciliation are reconceived to work compatibly for building peace,
the thesis presents the results of an in-depth case study of Rwanda¿s
post-genocide justice and reconciliation endeavour.
The thesis focuses on Rwanda¿s justice and reconciliation efforts and their
relationship to the ongoing challenge of reformulating Rwandans¿ social
identities. A field research conducted for this study revealed that issues of
victimhood, justice and reconciliation were highly contested among individuals
and groups with varied experiences of the country¿s violent history. Resolving
these conflicting narratives so that each Rwandan¿s narrative/identity is
dissociated from the negation of the other¿s victimhood emerged as a paramount
challenge in Rwanda¿s quest for justice and reconciliation. Rwanda¿s approach
to justice and reconciliation can be seen as an innovative both/and approach
that seeks to overcome dichotomous thinking by addressing various justice and
reconciliation concerns in compatible ways. However, by limiting its efforts to the
issues that arose from crimes committed under the former regimes, the justice
and reconciliation endeavour of the Rwandan government fails to reconcile
people¿s conflicting narratives of victimhood, which will be essential to transform
the existing racialised and politicised ethnic identities of Rwandan people.
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Type
Thesis
Qualification name
PhD