René Lemarchand

Political Clientelism and Ethnicity in Tropical Africa: * Competing Solidarities in Nation-Building

The concept of political clientelism is one if the few genuinely crosscultural concepts available to political scientists for the comparative study of transitional systems. As a descriptive concept, political clientelism helps us uncover patterns of relationships which deviate markedly from those ordinarily associated with class or ethnicity. As an analytic concept political clientelism provides crucial insights into the internal dynamics of social and political change. Moreover, if, as some contend, patterns of resource allocation are more meaningful indicators of political development than their conceptual opposites, political clientelism may well supply the critical “missing link†between micro- and macro-sociological or system-centered theories of political development.

Burundi : ethnocide as discourse and practice

Preface Acknowledgements 1. The Burundi paradox 2. The meta-conflict: violence as discourse 3. History as prologue 4. The crystallization of ethnic tensions 5. The 1972 watershed 6. The restructuring of state-society relations 7. The 1988 killings: the anatomy of fear 8. Toward a grand settlement 9. Hegemony, consociationalism, democracy, or none of the above? 10. Epilogue References Index.

Managing Transition Anarchies: Rwanda, Burundi, and South Africa in Comparative Perspective

Against the backdrop of Africas recent transitions to multi-party democracy, two countries stand at opposite ends of a spectrum of success and failure that ranges from the apocalyptic to the nearly miraculous. At one extreme, South Africa, the site of what has been described as ‘one of the most extraordinary political transformations of the twentieth century’, where the people ‘have defied the logic of their past, and broken all the rules of social theory, to forge a powerful spirit of unity from a shattered nation’. At the other end of the scale, Rwanda, a synonym for abyssal violence — a name that will go down in history as the epitome of an African Holocaust. Burundi, though spared the agonies of her neighbour, has not fared much better. There a remarkably successful transition was abruptly brought to a halt by an attempted military take-over, setting off an explosion of ethnic violence on a scale consonant with her reputation as a leading candidate for the title of genocidal state.

Political awakening in the Belgian Congo

This work examines the factors that contributed to Congolese political fragmentation encompassing the colonial administrative framework, the impact of western political and economic forces, and the transformations brought about by Christianity and western education.

Disconnecting the Threads: Rwanda and the Holocaust Reconsidered

The Holocaust and the Rwanda genocide are two of the most terrifying and complex catastrophes of the 20th century. Whether measured by the scale of the atrocities committed against Jews and Tutsi, the distinctiveness of their collective identities, and the deliberate, purposeful manner of their annihilation, there are compelling reasons for seeing in the Rwanda carnage a tropical version of the Shoa. Little wonder if time and again the better known of the two has been used as the paradigmatic frame for analysing the other.

The Limits of Self-Determination: The Case of the Katanga Secession.

Not the least paradoxical aspect of the United Nations mandate in the Congo, as described in the three-power resolution adopted by the Security Council on November 24, 1961, is that it was designed to prevent the exercise of a right which is explicitly recognized by the Charter. In effect, by “completely rejecting the claim of the Katanga as a sovereign independent Nation” and “recognizing the government of the Republic of the Congo as exclusively responsible for the conduct of the external affairs of the Congo,” the authors of the resolution clearly denied the provincial authorities of the Katanga the right to self-determination. Similarly, the support given by the United States government to the resolution, reaffirmed in several official statements, seems hardly compatible with our long-standing moral commitment to the Wilsonian principle that “the small states of the world have a right to enjoy the same respect for their sovereignty and territorial integrity that the great and powerful states expect and insist upon.” Actually, what may at first sight appear to be a sign of inconsistency is rather a reflection of the fundamental ambiguity in the concept of self-determination.

The Mafia and clientelism : roads to Rome in post-war Calabria

1. Agriculture 2. The Kreis of Solingen 3. The Kreise of Lennep and Mettmann 4. Elberfeld and Barmen 5. The Kreis of Gladbach 6. The Left Bank Silk Region 7. The Ruhr 8. The Kreis of Dusseldorf 9. The Handicraft Trades 10. The Background and Framework of Politics 11. Elections to the Constituent Reichstag, 12 February 1867 12. The Reichstag and Landtag Elections of 1867 13. The Landtag and Reichstag Elections of 1870-71 14. The Landtag and Reichstag Elections of 1873 - 74 15. The Landtag and Reichstag Elections of 1876-77 16. The Attentatswahl, 30 July 1878 17. Analysis and Conclusions.

CHAD: THE MISADVENTURES OF THE NORTH-SOUTH DIALECTIC

Is there more to Chad than the murderous idiosyncrasies of an improbable state which shares with its neighbors the vicissitudes of drought, famine, and environmental bankruptcy? The question is not merely rhetorical. In order to bring the present conflicts and confusions within the realm of comparative discourse, the uniqueness of the Chadian crisis must be assessed against its generic traits. To those of us who once debated whether Zaire was a unique or an extreme case, the issue has a familiar ring, and it carries intimations of inconclusiveness that may well apply to other states, including Chad. All states are, in one way or another, unique and Chad in more ways than one. Its uniqueness goes far beyond its sudden emergence as a strategic pawn in a desert war among proxies. With its national territory semi-partitioned, its northern half under Libyan occupation and its southern flank threatened by rebel activity; with a government in exile comprising no less than eleven factions at the latest count, some in open warfare with others, some appealing to Libya for continued military support, and others perpetually casting about to form an anti-Libyan coalition; with a central government overwhelmingly dependent on outside donors for military, economic, and financial aid but, nonetheless, highly sensitive to attempts at external manipulation; with a capital city in shambles, an infrastructure thoroughly inadequate for the tasks of rehabilitation and national reconstruction, and anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 refugees living in neighboring states-what other state can make as many claims to being unique in coping with, or surrendering to, the blows of adversity? Viewed against the backdrop of other Sahelian states, however, these particularities tend to recede, bringing into focus more familiar configurations. In Chad, as elsewhere in the Sahel (most notably in the Sudan), a basic source of conflict arises from the much publicized, and frequently oversimplified, division between an Arabized north and a non-Arab south. From this presumably overriding cleavage emerges a process of conflicting interactions which, for want of a better term, has been referred to

The C.I.A. in Africa: How Central? How Intelligent?

The virtuousness of the intentions conveyed by David Newsoms homily is indeed difficult to reconcile with the staggering evidence to the contrary recently disclosed through senatorial investigations, press reports, and various other sources. In the context of the post-Watergate era – when Americans have been told of the massive and direct involvement of the C.I.A. in the Angolan civil war, of the assassination plans against the late Patrice Lumumba, and of clandestine activities in Gabon and Madagascar – the least that one can say of such a statement is that it strains credulity.

The Report of the National Commission to Study the Question of National Unity in Burundi: a Critical Comment

In May 1989 the National Commission for the Study of National Unity appointed by President Pierre Buyoya issued its eagerly awaited report, ostensibly designed to find a lasting solution to the bloody confrontations that have repeatedly pitted Hutu against Tutsi. For the first time in the history of independent Burundi an official statement has been made public which explicitly recognises the centrality of the Hutu-Tutsi problem, and sets forth specific solutions to resolve it. As such this is a document of historic significance, and the sum of its recommendations must be seen as an important breakthrough towards national reconciliation.