What is Rwanda like today?

A review of Rwanda - From Genocide to Precarious Peace, by Susan Thomson. Yale University Press, New haven, 2018.

This book updates the situation in Rwanda today - some 24 years after the genocide.  Author Thomson details the changes and continuities since that terrible time. She describes how the current rulers of Rwanda have crafted a society of rules and regulations enforced by societal norms, peer pressures engineered by the regime and outright authoritarian control.  She sees much precedent for the strict codes and enforcement thereof arising in Rwanda’s pre-colonial history and carried forward to modern times.  Rwandans are used to being ordered about and coerced into conformity by whomever the ruling elites are.   Thomson delves into the self centered state and society now in place where although ethnic identity is squashed, Hutu citizens remain implicated and collectively guilty of genocide against Tutsi.  The charge of genocide denial or participation is an effective deterrent to political activism. Consequently, the state is firmly controlled by a small ruling Tutsi elite, who intend for the nation to evolve into a progressive entity dispensing economic and social progress for all.  For now however, it is only the ruling elites and a growing middle class that reap such benefits.  The poverty stricken masses see few paths out of their circumstances. But that is where Rwanda is - trying to move ahead, but enacting counterproductive policies - with greater social and political openness stymied by the impact of genocide. 

Thomson’s critique is pretty harsh and probably justified in looking at Rwanda through western eyes.  Her judgment of “precarious peace” is an accurate depiction of Rwanda today.  Western criticisms aside, Rwandans are inextricably bound together in their society and polity and they are going to have to work this out by themselves. Class rather than ethnicity will probably shape political divisions in years to come and the authoritarian state is unlikely to disappear.  Whether or not this might lead to violence is speculative, but another genocide as properly defined is unlikely.

Readers interested in Rwanda and/or the recovery of societies traumatized by violence will find this an interesting read.

Embassy Nairobi Bombings Disected!

Terrorism, Betrayal and Resilience - My Story of the 1998 U.S. Embassy Bombings by Prudence Bushnell, Potomac Books, 2018.

This is an impressive book. It is well written, quite readable and tells a fascinating story.   No one but the ambassador on the scene could have written this book. It is comprehensive in its depiction of events during, after and leading up to the embassy Nairobi bombing. It provides a unique perspective on what happened and how people reacted and coped.  But that is not all, the author also dissects the Department of State’s response to the security situation and the bombing with a critical eye.  Before and after the bombing there are many lessons that ought to have been learned; however, many weren’t. Additionally, the book outlines overall global planning by al-Qaeda, reporting what the USG knew and when and all the snafus involved in interagency turf issues.  Ambassador Bushnell paints a compelling case of negligence as the worst case or ignorance or ineptitude as the best regarding Washington’s response to security concerns and the threat of the al-Qaeda network. Topping all this off is Ambassador Bushnell’s observations on leadership and her practice of leadership during her entire career.  Finally, notable are discussions of hurdles that she as a woman had to overcome in asserting herself as an effective leader. 

 The book appeals to popular audiences that are curious about terrorism, and want a real life diplomatic thriller.  Indeed this is one. It is a compelling recitation of what happened and how embassy personnel and the government of Kenya responded to the crisis.   Even though a reader probably knows the overall outcome, the story of how the bombing and the aftermath is suspenseful and gripping.  It certainly will be read by the diplomatic community and by scholars, researchers and others who track terrorism and how it manifests itself.

 The book contributes to a fresh and certainly for most a more comprehensive understanding of what transpired in Nairobi. That in itself is meritorious, but the critical dissection of how the US intelligence community was divided on the al-Qaeda threat provides a new perspective that contrasts with the self-satisfied performance conveyed by Washington oriented writers. 

This is a very good book that needs to be read by anyone interested in Kenya, terrorism and the global diplomatic response to the crises of our times.