THE PSYCHOCULTURAL ROOTS OF GENOCIDE - LEGITIMACY AND CRISIS IN RWANDA

In April 1994, the small east African nation of Rwanda became the site of one of the most violent episodes of the 20th century. Over the cou rse of just 100 days, an embattled authoritarian state organized the s laughter of at least 850,000 Rwandans. Briefly, worldwide attention wa s riveted But cliche's about ''age-old tribal hatreds'' soon dominated discussion, conveying the impression that this was simply the latest episode in an unending cycle of violence. The truth, however is quite different. The Apr id genocide was in many ways unique. It was neither tribal nor age-old, and it is hardly-fated to recur: Indeed, the auth or's premise is that if this genocide is grasped in all its psychocult ural novelty and complexity, a point of Archimedean level-age can be f ound for interventions to avert tragedies in the future.