Genocide: The Role Of Ethnic Cleansing In Rwanda

In April 1994, a plane transporting the Rwandan president, Juvenal Habyarimana, was shot down which had in turn sparked the death of many Hutu and Tutsi civilians. Since this time, many books have been published about the killings that had occurred in Rwanda, focusing on the 1990s, most of the authors start their investigation on the history of Rwanda's, attempting to find explanations and the political factors that implemented the 1994 genocide. There is a large speculation about the definition of genocide. Mann argues that what he calls ''murderous ethnic cleansing'' is based on democratic ideologies and that such violence is likely to occur when weak institutionalised countries experience democratic shifting. Valentino argues that democracies …show more content…
Weitz believes that genocide is due to attempt to create the perfect place and to eradicate anyone who would threaten this.

Eric Weitz, a history professor at the university of Minnesota, whose previous work focuses mainly on the history of Germany, produces a comparative study of four genocide cases: Cambodia, Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. In his book, 'A century of genocide: Utopias of race and nation', he compares the ideologies of social and political forces and whether they had contributed and how they had done so to each of the four genocides. He believes that genocide is due to radical attempts in order to create ''utopia in the here and now'' (p.14). Utopia is given the definition of being an ideally perfect place dominating highly desirable and near perfect qualities. Weitz argues that the attempt to strive for perfection is comprised by the principles and values set by the race and nation. Hence the subtitle of the book, ''utopia’s of race and nation''. For Weitz, the foundation of genocide is modernity; it is top-down. Genocide roots from ideology and arises from revolutionary endeavours in order to alter the society. Weitz argues that genocide is more likely to occur under …show more content…
Valentino, an associate professor of government at Dartmouth college, makes quite a different argument in contrast to Weitz. His main analysis is that genocide is intentional and that in order for them to accomplish particular goals mass killing arises from calculations and strategies of leaders, or people in higher positions,. Similarly to Weitz, Valentino's argument is top-down, Valentino argues that genocide is an intentional act and is taken by a relatively small group of leaders. Valentino considers a wide variety of cases and examples of mass killing. He develops his argument through eight case studies and focuses on three types of mass killing. Communist mass killing which includes the Soviet Union, China and Cambodia. Another type is ethnic genocides such as Armenia, Nazi Germany, and Rwanda. Valentino also looks at counter guerilla campaigns which includes Guatemala and the Soviet activity in Afghanistan. He seeks to explain not just genocide but also ''mass killing''. He also points to the size of targeted populations, the level of threat and the physical capacities of perpetrators. Mass killing is more likely when there is a greater threat to vital interests and when perpetrators have the physical capacity to inflict mass killing. Mass killing is less