Ethnic conflict: causes, dynamics, and resolution strategies

Rwanda, a country located in East Africa that was colonized by Belgium aristocracy, is a picturesque nation that also has a bitter past. At present, Rwanda is a socially, economically, and politically stable country with booming industries such as mining, agriculture, and tourism that constitute its financial foundation. However, in 1994 one of the worst genocide cases in modern world history that involved the assassination of then president Juvenal Habyarimana and the mass killings of approximately 850,000 citizens occurred within a 100 day time span. The tension erupted when the generally favored and European looking Tutsis peoples had conflict with the more native African looking Hutus aborigines. In 1990, the Tutsis led Rwanda Patriotic Front fought to maintain government control of the nation, which lead to civil unrest for the next three years culminating in the 1994 genocide. The root of these slayings is complex and involves a comparison between primordialism and social constructivism paradigms as a study within a sociological and political context.

The term ethnic refers to the commonalities of a group of people who acknowledge such shred visions, tradition, or special socio-physiological characteristics. From a sociological point-of-view, ethnicity can determine the cohesiveness of a group of people within a nation. Such information can be applied to a broader context when examining the root cause of the 1994 Rwandan genocides. A primordialism perspective implies that both the Tutsis and the Hutus work together as though both groups have a common goal or shared bond. The ethnic ties between the Tutsi and the Hutu are communal. However, from a historical standpoint, such bonds did not truly exist between the Tutsi and the Hutu peoples. The Hutus group, which is roughly 75% of the residents in Rwanda, resented the favoritism shown to the Tutsi peoples. Despite efforts by Belgium invaders to switch their loyalty to the Hutus in 1962, prior to Rwanda's declaration of independence from the country, the majority group disliked the Tutsi 1990 measures to control the then fragile government structure. As such, primordialism cannot fully be applied to the ethnic division between the Tutsis and Hutus groups during the intra-state conflict that dominated the genocide. On the other hand, social constructivism is slightly more applicable.

Social constructivism is a sociological theory that implies that the formation of national identity and ethnic group formation is a consequence and creation based on Rwandan history. However, constructivism is based in political and societal context and must be examined according to the specific moral edicts that permeate the minds of the citizens of a country and also the leadership of that particular nation. Social constructivists would argue that the social and political tradition of Rwanda dictates the ethnic identities of the Hutu and Tutsi peoples. The Tutsi monarchy ran the government and were more favored over the Hutu prior to 1959, when Belgium, officials began to see the Hutus as more socially acceptable.

Although this action did not initially lead to violence until 1990, the Tutsis groups did not overtly object to the newly formed Hutsi run government structure in 1962 when the Tutsi where overthrown. When Belgium colonized Rwanda, racial mixing to some extend did occur during the 1940s, which led to the formation of the Tutsi, who are a breed of European and African heritage. On the other hand, the Hutu is of pure African descent. Consequently, the general antagonism between both Tutsi and Hutu ethnic groups is better explained through social constructivism as the sentiment between both groups resulted in the 1994 genocide in which hundred of thousands of Rwandans perished.