Danielle Beswick

State Building, Security and Development: state building as a new development paradigm?

State building is currently experiencing a renaissance of sorts, cutting across disciplines such as international relations, political studies, anthropology, economics, international development an...

Peacekeeping, Regime Security and ‘African Solutions to African Problems’: exploring motivations for Rwanda's involvement in Darfur

Abstract Rwanda is not a traditional provider of troops for peacekeeping missions, yet since 2004 it has been the second largest contributor to both the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) and its successor the hybrid African Union–UN Assistance Mission in Darfur (UNAMID). This paper analyses some of the key motives for Rwandas contribution to these missions, situating its actions within a wider framework in which African states benefit in specific ways from being seen to contribute to ‘African solutions to African problems’. Highlighting changing narratives on Africas role in international security, I argue that Rwandas ruling party has been able use its involvement in peacekeeping to secure its position domestically and to attract or retain the support of key bilateral donors. I briefly explore the implications of these dynamics for Rwandas political development, suggesting in conclusion that the focus on building military capacity for peacekeeping purposes may contribute to future African, and Rwandan, security problems as much as to potential solutions.

Aiding State Building and Sacrificing Peace Building? The Rwanda–UK relationship 1994–2011

Abstract This article explores the relationship between the UK and Rwanda, using the lens of the UK Department for International Developments integrated approach to state building and peace building in fragile and conflict-affected states. It identifies a number of priorities for UK aid under such a framework, but shows that in the case of Rwanda these have not been foregrounded in the bilateral aid relationship. The article suggests a number of reasons for this, arguing that, by refusing to acknowledge or address Rwandas deviations from what was considered a positive development trajectory, the UK is becoming internationally isolated in its support for the rpf regime. It concludes that, while this bilateral relationship may support achievement of stability and relative security in Rwanda, promoting such a narrow form of state building is detrimental to more holistic peace building, both nationally and regionally.

Democracy, identity and the politics of exclusion in post-genocide Rwanda: the case of the Batwa

Since the 1994 genocide, the Rwandan government has sought to navigate a difficult path between the multi-party democracy favoured by donors and a more tightly managed political environment that it argues is necessary for security. Using the fragile post-genocide political context and a history of political manipulation of ethnic identity as justification, the government has stigmatized and criminalized all references to ethnicity. This paper argues that this strategy has required careful management and manipulation of local narratives of identity and citizenship. It suggests that this has led, for one group in particular – the indigenous Batwa – to a politics of exclusion which limits their ability to participate effectively in post-genocide politics and advocate for their rights. Drawing on interviews with Rwandan civil society activists, government representatives and key bilateral and multilateral donors, the paper explores the often-overlooked impacts of these strategies on the Batwa, Rwandas smallest ethnic group. Rwanda has been praised for its achievements in creating stability, relative security and a degree of competitive politics in a divided society that is needed to prevent the recurrence of large scale violence. And though the government explains its attempts to manage identity narratives as part of a wider effort to create an inclusive national identity, promoting ‘Rwandan-ness’, it is suggested that the effects of this policy for the Batwa have been negative and exclusionary. Whatever the potential virtues of such a strategy, the paper argues that there is little room for effective representation and accordingly for a political voice for the indigenous Batwa in such a tightly managed system.

The Challenge of Warlordism to Post-Conflict State-Building: The Case of Laurent Nkunda in Eastern Congo

Abstract Using evidence from the case of Congo, focusing in particular on the eastern Kivu provinces, this article argues that the enduring presence of warlords, and the influence of their international supporters, remains inadequately addressed by current practices of post-conflict state-building. The dominant contemporary model of state-building currently focuses on the promotion of liberal democracy as a way of avoiding future conflict, highlighting in particular the key role of elections. Simultaneously, it emphasises the importance of security and developing a state monopoly on violence. However, in the pursuit of both these ends in Congo, warlord politics and interference from regional powers continue to pose significant challenges. Exploring key aspects of the rebel movement led by Laurent Nkunda in east Congo (2004–2009), this article will illustrate some of the challenges warlordism poses in Congo, focusing particularly on the shortcomings of a ‘single sovereign’ approach to state-building. In conclusion, the experience of the Kivus indicates that an approach recognising multiple sovereignties or emphasising significant decentralisation may be more appropriate. Without such a shift in emphasis the notion that Congo is, or will soon become, an empirically functional state is perhaps wishful thinking.

African Agency in a Changing Security Environment: Sources, Opportunities and Challenges

This special issue contributes to the growing debate on the nature and limits of African agency. It does so by focusing on the possibilities of and constraints on agency in the security sphere. This is a sphere traditionally characterised as dominated by existential threats and the imperative of survival. Hence it is often considered to present an especially restrictive environment for agency, particularly of the transformative kind.We do not take this traditional understanding of security for granted, but adopt a constructivist viewpoint. The articles included in this special issue have in common that they all aim to critically explore the way in which security threats and appropriate responses are perceived, defined and pursued by African actors, whether multilateral institutions, states, communities or individuals. We argue in favour of an understanding of agency which is relational and contextualised, where structures and agency are continuously reproduced over time and co-constitutive, a theme reflected across the studies presented. Through this approach we aim to challenge narrow, structure-dominated and overly restrictive approaches to understanding the responses of African actors to contemporary security challenges. We define security in a broad manner. Some studies are concerned with traditional security threats to states and regions, while others focus on the human security needs of individuals to not just survive on the margins of existence but to exercise their agency to improve, or at least attempt to improve, their lives.

The African State and Special Procedures: Agency, Leverage and Legitimacy

This chapter explores the international politics of the Special Procedures (SP) systems and focuses particularly on the following questions: why, and how, do states engage with these systems – and for what purposes? The engagement of African states with UN Special Procedures and African Union (AU) Special Rapporteurs is given central prominence herein.The chapter challenges the notion of African state ‘weakness’ in the international system through examining how African states interact with both UN and AU systems to maximise agency and political space. Focusing on African engagement and non-engagement with the seven UN and AU thematic mandates which mirror one another – and complemented by interview data collected from UNHRC personnel in Geneva and state officials in Eastern Africa – we argue that some African states have successfully enhanced their voice and room for manoeuvre within international human rights architectures through strategically engaging and disengaging with different parts of different systems and, indeed, through instrumentalising their perceived weaknesses.In doing so, we also reflect on the extent to which the UN and AU systems complement or contradict one another in their approaches to engaging the continent’s political elite. We conclude by arguing for a more systematic exchange between the two systems.