This thesis explores the question of what factors shaped Rwandan ethnicity in the late 1950s and early 1960s; in particular, how and why was ethnicity transformed into ‘political tribalism’ in decolonising Rwanda? The Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the subsequent post-genocide peace-building have drawn our attention to the problems of ethnicity and nationalism. While ethnicity and nationalism in Africa have been a matter of debate amongst the primordialist, instrumentalist and constructivist schools, it has become more or less accepted knowledge that ethnicity in Africa was constructed by dynamic interactions between Europeans and Africans in particular colonial contexts. This constructivist approach may have advanced our understanding of ethnicity in pre-colonial and colonial Rwanda, but our perception of Rwandan ethnicity in the 1950s and 1960s has not benefited from this academic trend. Instead, the literature on this issue, most of which was written several decades ago, tends to take a primordialist approach towards the Rwandan Revolution and the ethnic conflict that emerged at the end of colonial period. By theoretically adhering to a constructivist approach, and relying on John Lonsdale’s ‘political tribalism’ model in particular, the thesis argues that to take a nuanced hybrid-constructivist approach is essential, because primordial ethnic conflict was not the cause of the Revolution and other historical events, but the other way round. Ethnicity in Rwanda was not simply invented by the Europeans during the colonial period, nor was it so primordial that the conflict between the Tutsi and the Hutu was inevitable; in fact, several conflicts (and not always along ethnic boundaries) existed, and even some alternatives were suggested for ethnic cooperation. Ethnicity went through a dynamic transformation into ‘political tribalism’ through interactions between Rwandans and non-Rwandans, as well as through relationships amongst different groups of Rwandans. Various domestic factors – including intra-Tutsi leadership rivalry, the alliance among the political parties and the inter-ethnic power struggle – affected the process of the Revolution, and politicised ethnicity. External factors, such as factions within the Belgian administrations as well as the heated debates in the Cold War-era United Nations, also provided opportunities for Rwandan ethnicity to become politicised. Contingency, the mass movement of people, violence and the processes of revolution and decolonisation had a synergistic impact on the spread of ‘political tribalism’ over Rwanda. Primordial perceptions on ethnicity, as well as interpretations of the past, and visions for the future held by each actor, were factors that shaped ethnicity and forced the ethnic split into the foreground. In this sense, Rwandan ethnicity cannot simply be understood through the dichotomised debate of primordialists and constructivists. Rather, it was a more dynamic process of ethnic transformation with unaccomplished alternatives and inter/intra-group relationships, strongly bound by the historical and political contexts of the time. ‘Political tribalism’ and interpretations of the past have influenced and, even today, continue to influence post-colonial Rwandan politics.

This thesis explores religion and popular culture in post-genocide Rwanda. In particular, I examine the rise of the new Pentecostal churches – the abarokore ("the saved ones") – and the reconstruction of the "modern" music industry after the genocide. I argue that contemporary social life in Rwanda is defined by "quiet insecurity" and "temporal dissonance". I employ these concepts to take seriously how young people in Rwanda create alternative pasts, presents, and futures for themselves within an authoritarian political context. While the government attempts to control the historical narrative and impose a particular developmentalist "vision" of the future onto its citizens, young people articulate and perform their hopes, fears, dreams, and anxieties within the realms of religion and popular culture, creating "unofficial" narratives that both converge with and contest those of the state. Against the prevailing academic consensus of Kigali as silent, I instead reposition the capital as a site of creativity wherein noisy debates take place about Rwandan identity and culture. I examine the new abarokore churches as important affective spaces that allow for healing and the keeping of secrets. Yet the fact that these same churches tend to be mono-ethnic suggests the limits of the born-again project. Conversely, the community imagined within popular culture, particularly through hip hop songs, is more inclusive, with identity forged through the mutual experience of pain and suffering. I pay particular attention to gender, and consider how patriarchal tendencies in the new churches and popular culture undermine the country's "progressive" gender policies. By examining Pentecostal services, conversion testimonies, song lyrics, the Kinyarwanda-language entertainment media, and discourses of musical corruption, I explore how young people respond to a context of quiet insecurity through quiet agency – they actively seek to transform and resolve their life circumstances, however modest or temporary their transformations or resolutions prove to be.

L’histoire de l’intégration régionale dans les Grands Lacs est récente. Il faut attendre la colonisation pour voir le Burundi et le Rwanda entrer véritablement dans ce processus. Le mandat belge oriente les deux territoires vers le cœur de l’Afrique. Cette période va influencer la première intégration institutionnelle avec la Communauté Economique des Pays des Grands Lacs. Il convient toutefois de rester mesuré, puisque celle-ci est avant tout une intégration de papier. Elle est similaire aux autres adhésions des deux pays à cette période, qui se révèlent être en inadéquation avec leurs circuits commerciaux. Les organisations régionales sont également inefficaces pour régler la problématique des réfugiés. Les années 1993 et 1994 sont des ruptures internes pour le Burundi et le Rwanda. Elles provoquent également un renversement régional, avec la désintégration de l’Afrique des Grands Lacs : ce sont les guerres congolaises. Dans le même temps, les deux pays se réorientent vers l’Afrique de l’Est, où l’EAC leur permet enfin un réel désenclavement. L’intégration du Rwanda semble toutefois plus efficace que celle du Burundi. / The history of regional integration in the Great Lakes is recent. To see Burundi and Rwanda truly enter into this process you have to wait the colonization. The Belgian mandate turns the two territories to the heart of Africa. This period will influence the first institutional integration with the Economic Community of Great Lakes Countries. However, we should remain cautius, since it is primarily paper integration. It is similar to other memberships of the two countries in this period, which is proving to be inadequate with their commercial channels. Regional organizations are also ineffective to resolve the refugee issue. The years 1993 and 1994 are internal ruptures for Burundi and Rwanda. They also cause a regional reversal, with the disintegration of the African Great Lakes : these are the Congolese wars. At the same time, both countries are shifting towards East Africa, where the EAC finally allows them a real opening up. The integration of Rwanda, however, seems more effective than that of Burundi.