Re-Imagining Rwanda by Johan Pottier
The conflict in Rwanda and the Great Lakes in 1994-1996 attracted the horrified attention of the world's media, diplomats and aid workers struggling to make sense of the bloodshed. This study shows how the post-genocide regime in Rwanda managed to impose a simple, persuasive account of Central Africa's crises upon international commentators, and explains the ideological underpinnings of this official narrative. It is a sobering analysis of how simple, persuasive, but fatally misleading analysis of the situation led to policy errors that exacerbated the original crisis.
'… an important and courageous book, and well informed … this analysis is essential reading for people interested in the area and in the role of the press in general'Journal of African History
'In this courageous and important book, Pottier succeeds admirably in reaffirming the necessity of scholarly analysis, as enshrined in the academic monograph, to provide the basis for well-balanced and historically informed analyses of major events … Pottier provides us with an insightful description of the build-up and aftermath of Rwanda's tragic genocide and ensuing war … chapter 5 … is a brilliant example of how the detailed anthropological understandings of a culture as lived by ordinary people can provide the best basis for understanding and interpreting larger and more complex events and (mis)representations at regional, national, and international levels. This important book should be required reading for anyone - from foreign diplomats and politicians, journalists, aid and development workers to academics - committed to building a better Rwanda, and for anyone whose task requires an engagement with the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
'This is an important book on the political construction of knowledge … it is essential reading for anyone interested in the conflicts of Central Africa, or complex humanitarian emergencies more generally.' African Affairs
'In this courageous and important book, Pottier succeeds admirably in reaffirming the necessity of scholarly analysis, as enshrined in the academic monograph, to provide the basis for well-balanced and historically informed analyses of major events … Pottier provides us with an insightful description of the build-up and aftermath of Rwanda's tragic genocide and ensuing war … chapter 5 … is a brilliant example of how the detailed anthropological understandings of a culture as lived by ordinary people can provide the best basis for understanding and interpreting larger and more complex events and (mis)representations at regional, national, and international levels. This important book should be required reading for anyone - from foreign diplomats and politicians, journalists, aid and development workers to academics - committed to building a better Rwanda, and for anyone whose task requires an engagement with the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa.' Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
'This is an important book on the political construction of knowledge … it is essential reading for anyone interested in the conflicts of Central Africa, or complex humanitarian emergencies more generally.' African Affairs
Johan Pottier is Professor of Social Anthropology at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780521528733 |
| ISBN 10 | 0521528739 |
| Title | Re-Imagining Rwanda |
| Author | Johan Pottier |
| Series | African Studies |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| Year published | 2002-09-26 |
| Number of pages | 276 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |