The Rwandan genocide has become a symbol of the West's failure to act in the face of unmitigated evil.

Yet assessments of Rwanda's progress toward political reform and social reconciliation since the military victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) put an end to the genocide differ.

Has the RPF merely created a veneer of stability by suppressing dissent and limiting civil and political rights? Or is Rwanda the story of a fall into an abyss followed by a progressive rebound? Has the government's suppression of discussion about ethnicity helped forge a new Rwandan identity, or cast a veil over a policy of ethnic favoritism? Finally, how have the Gacaca courts—much lauded at their inception—actually worked in practice?

Speakers

• Scott Straus, University of Wisconsin, Madison
• Timothy Longman, Vassar College
• Rene Lemarchand, University of Florida
• Gerald Gahima, U.S. Institute of Peace, Discussant
• Dorina Bekoe, U.S. Institute of Peace, Moderator

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