Rwanda's ethnic pressure cooker: Justice, access and participation in Kagame's society

Abstract

Post genocide Rwanda is widely considered to be Africa’s success story, holding regular
elections and with a growing economy the Great Lakes nation is regularly praised by
Western powers. This thesis however shall seek to uncover Rwanda’s darker side, and will
analyse the extent to which the failures of Rwanda’s transitional justice mechanisms have
impacted upon its democratic development. By establishing a theoretical foundation of
democracy, including deliberative thought, and a framework of transitional justice, this
thesis shall analyse the extent to which these concepts have been realised. This shall be
done through an analysis of Rwanda’s transitional justice mechanisms, the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the gacaca courts. Due to both courts having a limited
realisation of access and participation, this thesis shall conclude by uncovering the effects
that the failures of transitional justice have had on Rwanda’s democratic development. In
light of Rwanda’s limited realisation of democracy and due to the marginalisation of the
country’s Hutu population, the future for the Great Lakes nation could be devastating.