Compare and Contrast Between Rwanda and Darfur Genocide, from the Constructivism and Realism Perspectives

1509 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Critique of rwandan genocide

The analysis of the genocides that took place both in Rwanda and Sudan’s Darfur region exhibit some similarities as well as differences. The character of violence was similar in both cases, but in Rwanda the violence was more intense, participatory, and extraordinary. The violence in these two places took place in an environment that had experienced civil wars. It was a period of political transition which was further aggravated by ethnic nationalism and a conflict of ethnic populations that were living in close proximity. However, in the Rwandan genocide, the state is more centralized, compact, and effective. This is what explains the intensity and variation. The international response to these genocides through observers emphasized on using the genocide label to create domestic constituencies especially in the Rwandan case.

The Darfur case however, revealed that both of these strategies are not effective. Responding to the genocide in Darfur, the US officials declared the label genocide to be occurring. Thereafter, a politically civil-society coalition emerged so as to lobby the administration. The net outcome of these two scenarios however was the same in the absence of effective policies that could halt the genocide. The Rwandan genocide has always acted as the point of reference for similar genocides taking place around the world. Since the 2003 crisis in Darfur, a lot of comparisons have been made to Rwandan genocide. Observers have likened the Darfur genocide to what happened in Rwanda and of course giving it two connotations. First, the violence in the western parts of Sudan has been referred to another Rwanda, by basing their arguments on the nature of the violence. Since whatever was happening in Darfur is similar t...

... middle of paper ...

... different since the US was guided by the realism approach of not extending humanitarian help beyond their borders.

Works cited

Kupperman, Alan. Genocide: The Cases of Rwanda and Sudan. (2007)

Retrieved from http://www.fpri.org/footnotes/1215.200705.kuperman.genociderwandasudan.html

Lim, Timothy. Analyzing foreign policy: duties beyond borders? (2000)

Retrieved from http://instructional1.calstatela.edu/tclim/F09_Courses/425f09_duties.pdf

Merlingen, Michael. European security and defense policy: an implementation perspective, (2008). New York: Routledge publishers.

Shapiro, Alan. Genocide in Darfur, Inaction in the Security Council

Retrieved from http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/darfur.html

Straus, Scott. Rwanda and Darfur: A Comparative Analysis.

Retrieved from http://www.chgs.umn.edu/histories/occasional/StrausGSP2006.pdf

Show More
Related

  • Analysis Of The Film Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?

    1268 Words  | 3 Pages

    As the news reported that Islamic State committed genocide against Christians and other minorities had suffered serious defeats from recent battles against the allied forces, the images of piles of dead bodies shown to the world in Rwanda about a couple decades ago emerge once again and triggers an interesting puzzle: why did the Rwandan Genocide happen in one of the smallest nations in the African Continent? The documentary film, Rwanda-Do Scars Ever Fade?, upon which this film analysis is based provides an answer to the puzzle.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Scott Straus The Order Of Genocide

    2481 Words  | 5 Pages

    Though the event occurred almost twenty-one years ago, the Rwandan genocide of 1994 has prompted much discussion about what truly caused the deaths of an estimated 800,000 civilians. Scott Straus, a political scientist and author of The Order of Genocide: Race, Power, and War in Rwanda, makes the claim that it is very difficult to precisely identify what began the genocide in Rwanda for a number of reasons, and also comments that many of the beliefs in regards to the causes and evolution of genocide in Rwanda are incomplete. In his book, Straus focuses on three main aspects: to look closely at the local dynamics of the genocide, to produce an assessment of explanations, and finally to develop a theory that would explain the genocide in Rwanda.

    Read More

  • The Eight Stages Of Genocide In Darfur

    1127 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many still believe that all the hard times are behind them. Those people believe that since they aren’t the ones having to face those harsh times. However, evil still exists till this day, like the Genocide in Darfur. The subject about Darfur has always been a delicate one to many. However, there are still many in this society that still don’t even have the slightest clue about what is happening over in Sudan. There have been many genocides in the past, and the most well known is the Holocaust, but it’s sad to think that it still goes on till this day. Furthermore, there are still many that haven’t done much about it. Society needs to find out about what is happening in Darfur and awareness needs to be raised as well.

    Read More

  • Rape as a War Tactic in the Rwandan Genocide

    2041 Words  | 5 Pages

    “The sweetly sickening odor of decomposing bodies hung over many parts of Rwanda in July 1994: . . . at Nyarubuye in eastern Rwanda, where the cadaver of a little girl, otherwise intact, had been flattened by passing vehicles to the thinness of cardboard in front of the church steps,” (Deforges 6). The normalcy of horrible images like this one had cast a depressing gloom over Rwanda during the genocide, a time when an extreme divide caused mass killings of Tutsi by the Hutu. Many tactics such as physical assault or hate propaganda are well known and often used during times of war. Sexual assault and rape, however, during times of war is an unspoken secret – it is well known that rape occurs within combat zones and occupied territories, but people tend to ignore, or even worse, not speak of the act. There have been recorded cases of rape and sexual assault in almost every war in human history. Genocidal rape was used as a gendered war tactic in the Rwandan genocide in order to accomplish the Hutu goal of elimination of the Tutsi people in whole, or part.

    Read More

  • Genocide in Rwanda: Extreme Denial of Human Rights

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    Former UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali once said, "We were not realizing that with just a machete, you can do a genocide." To be candid, nobody anticipated the Rwandan Genocide that occurred in 1994. The genocide in Rwanda was an infamous blood-red blur in modern history where almost a million innocent people were murdered in cold blood. Members of the Tutsi tribe were systematically hacked or beaten to death by members of the Interahamwe, a militia made up of Hutu tribe members. In just 100 days, from April 6, 1994 to mid-July, 20% of Rwanda's population was killed; about 10,000 people a day. Bodies literally were strewn over city streets. Genocide obviously violates almost all articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; however, the article I find most important is Article 3 - the right to life, liberty, and personal security. In just 100 days, one million people were denied the most basic privilege granted to every human – the right to live, simply because they were born to the wrong tribe.

    Read More

  • Similarities and Differences Between the Conflicts in Sierra Leone and Rwanda

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the 1900’s two deadly wars were raging on, the civil war in Sierra Leone and the genocide in Rwanda. The civil war in Sierra Leone began in March 1991, while the genocide began in 1994. Combined these two wars killed upward of 1,050,000 people, and affected the lives of all the people that lived there. The conflicts in Sierra Leone and Rwanda occurred for different major reasons, but many little aspects were similar. Politics and Ethnicity were the two main conflicts, but despite the different moments rebellions and the murder of innocent people occurred in both places.

    Read More

  • The Genocides of the 20th Century

    1511 Words  | 4 Pages

    The genocides of the 20th century which occurred in Rwanda and Germany had striking similarities, something that should have alerted the world to stop them. At the core of these two massacres, patterns existed that outlined how similar thinking and reasoning could lead to something as horrible as these two events. One can see how both groups used their command of knowledge as a way to control the people, how the rest of the world refused to step up to stop the killings, and how the people were thought of as less than humans to provide a just cause for such terrible acts.

    Read More

  • Rwandan Genocide: Unraveling a Historical Catastrophe

    604 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Rwandan Genocide was a terrible event in history caused by a constantly weakening relationship between two groups of people. The country of Rwanda is located in Africa and consists of multiple groups of people. Majority of Rwanda is Hutu, while a smaller amount of people are Tutsis. The genocide started due to multiple events that really stretched the relationship between the two groups to its end. One of the starting factors was at the end of World War 1. Rwanda was a German colony but then was given to Belgium “who favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus, exacerbated[exacerbating] the tendency of the few to oppress the many”(History.com). This created a feeling of anger towards the Tutsis, because they had much more power then Hutus.

    Read More

  • Rwandan Genocide

    1007 Words  | 3 Pages

    Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Rwandan Genocide

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the Rwandan Hutu majority betrayed the Tutsi minority, a destructive mass murdering broke out where neighbor turned on neighbor and teachers killed their students; this was the start of a genocide. In this paper I will tell you about the horrors the people of Rwanda had to face while genocide destroyed their homes, and I will also tell you about the mental trauma they still face today.

    Read More

  • The Rwandan Genocide: Factors that Contribute to Genocide

    2659 Words  | 6 Pages

    Percival, Valerie, and Thomas Homer-Dixon. "Getting Rwanda wrong. (genocide in Rwanda)." Saturday Night. v110. n7 (Sept 1995): p47(3). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. K12 Trial Site. 12 Apr. 2010 .

    Read More

  • A Constructivist View of North Korean Nuclear Proliferation

    2007 Words  | 5 Pages

    Wendt, Alexander. “Constructing International Politics.” International Security. Cambridge: President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. 71-81. Print.

    Read More

  • After the Holocaust, Vows of Never Again are Broken Again and Again

    756 Words  | 2 Pages

    Various schools of thought exist as to why genocide continues at this deplorable rate and what must be done in order to uphold our promise. There are those who believe it is inaction by the international community which allows for massacres and tragedies to occur - equating apathy or neutrality with complicity to evil. Although other nations may play a part in the solution to genocide, the absolute reliance on others is part of the problem. No one nation or group of nations can be given such a respo...

    Read More

  • Foreign Aid

    1276 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...think if people were more aware of the amount of foreign aid being provided they could see how big the impacts really are.

    Read More

  • The Changing Role of NATO After the Cold War

    6373 Words  | 13 Pages

    Kugler, Richard L. 1995. “Defence Program Requirements”. In NATO Enlargement: Opinions and Options, Jeffrey Simon (Ed), Washington D.C. National Defence University Press, Fort McNair, 184-207.

    Read More

More about Compare and Contrast Between Rwanda and Darfur Genocide, from the Constructivism and Realism Perspectives

Open Document