It is hard to separate where I have gained the limited knowledge I have on Rwanda, or what specifically that knowledge is, but here are three things I’ve narrowed it down to:
1. International donors are starting to pull their support from Rwanda because of allegations of the Rwandan government’s involvement in the DRC (most news stories I’ve read on this have been from Al Jazeera English)
2. A genocide occurred in Rwanda in 1994 which has been used as the prism for genocides that have been committed more recently, such as in Bosnia or in Darfur (this knowledge comes from research on the use of genocide and humanitarian discourse in politics)–this framing and reframing has an impact on how other genocides are perceived and “dealt with”.
3. Rwanda’s current government and economy is held as an example of economic success (from NYT and other news sources, as well as readings from class)