Book review: why comrades go to war: liberation politics and the outbreak of Africa's deadliest conflict by Philip Roessler and Harry Verhoeven

Benjamin Chemouni says Why Comrades Go to War is an ambitious book aiming to shed a new light on the causes of the two Congo Wars (1996-1997 and 1998-2003) that led to the overthrowing of Mobutu Sese Seko in May 1997 and resulted, as the title of the book puts it, in Africa's deadliest conflict

Failed coup in Burundi: what does it mean for the future of the country?

PhD candidate Benjamin Chemouni has appeared on Al Jazeera English and the BBC World News as a political analyst on the crisis in Burundi. Below, he ponders the consequences of the failed coup in view of an upcoming presidential election

The politics of state effectiveness in Burundi and Rwanda: ruling elite legitimacy and the imperative of state performance

This thesis explores why state effectiveness differs in countries that otherwise share many common characteristics, a question that has been central in recent academic and policy debates, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The thesis presents a comparative study of two such states, Burundi and Rwanda. Although they share many characteristics, their performance has followed diverging paths since the end of the civil war in Burundi (1993-2003) and of the war and the genocide in Rwanda (1990-1994). Through a comparative case study analysis, the research examines why the state is more effective in implementing government policies in the latter than in the former. Drawing on a year and a half of fieldwork, the thesis explores the effectiveness of the state from two analytical vantage points. First, a functional perspective examines the articulation and implementation of specific policies, taking as sub-case studies the promotion of fertiliser use in agriculture and the promotion of maternal health. Second, state effectiveness is explored through an organisational perspective, examining the incentive, monitoring and disciplining mechanisms of officials in the local-level and national-level bureaucracies. Both countries had formal state institutions ostensibly designed to promote development. However the informal norms and organisational behaviour promoted by ruling political parties undermined developmental efforts in Burundi while supporting them in Rwanda. The thesis argues that the difference in state effectiveness between the two countries lies ultimately in elites’ differing strategies of legitimation, making a well-functioning state less politically imperative in Burundi than in Rwanda. To demonstrate this, the thesis improves on existing typologies of forms of legitimacy and probes the relationship between the elite’s legitimation strategies and state effectiveness. Empirically, the research contributes to redressing the relative paucity of the literature on the political economy of the state in Burundi. It engages with the polarised scholarship on Rwanda by revisiting the main debates on the nature of its state. It invites nuancing current analyses on how power is deployed from the centre to the periphery in that country

Taking stock of Rwanda’s decentralisation: changing local governance in a post-conflict environment

This article takes stock of Rwanda’s decentralisation by reviewing the existing evidence and putting them into perspective with the wider literature on decentralisation. It challenges the narrative that depicts the Rwandan decentralisation as a wholly negative or destabilising process by arguing that the focus of the scholarship on lack of popular participation should not ignore key dynamics that had significant stabilising effects. Yet, as the Rwandan economy and society are becoming more diversified, introduction of bottom-up mechanisms of decisionmaking will be necessary in the future to enhance the government responsiveness to evolving local needs and ensure stability in the long run

The political path to universal health coverage: Power, ideas and community-based health insurance in Rwanda

Rwanda is the country with the highest enrolment in health insurance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Pivotal in setting Rwanda on the path to universal health coverage (UHC) is the community-based health insurance (CBHI), which covers more than three-quarters of the population. The paper seeks to explain how Rwanda, one of the poorest countries in the world, managed to achieve such performance by understanding the political drivers behind the CBHI design and implementation. Using an analytical framework relying on political settlement and ideas, it engages in process-tracing of the critical policy choices of the CBHI development. The study finds that the commitment to expanding health insurance coverage was made possible by a dominant political settlement. CBHI is part of the broader efforts of the regime to foster its legitimacy based on rapid socio-economic development. Yet, CBHI was chosen over other potential solutions to expand access to healthcare because it was also the option the most compatible with the ruling coalition core ideology. The study shows that pursuing UHC is an eminently political process but explanations solely based on objective “interests” of rulers cannot fully account for the emergence and shape of social protection programme. Ideology matters as well. Programme design compatible with the political economy of a country but incompatible with ideas of the ruling coalition is likely to run into political obstructions. The study also questions the relevance for poor countries to reach UHC relying on pure CBHI models based on voluntary enrolment and community management.This research was funded by the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) Research Centre at the University of Manchester through a DFID grant

The contradictions of an aspiring developmental state : energy boom and bureaucratic independence in Rwanda

Scholars have typically explained the developmental performance of late-late developers through the analytical lens applied to East Asian developmental states, a lens that focuses on bureaucratic capacity and the bureaucracy’s relationship with businesses and with society more broadly. In contrast, relatively limited attention is devoted to the relationship between bureaucrats and politicians. This is surprising, as a rich literature exists on this topic in developed countries and recent work has underlined the importance of the bureaucratic–political interface in poorer countries’ reform processes. This article contributes to addressing this gap. It demonstrates the significance of internal regime dynamics between politicians and bureaucrats as a factor explaining states’ ability to create functioning economic development. Using the case of the electricity sector in the aspiring developmental state, Rwanda, it shows the importance of what we term bureaucratic independence – the ability of the civil service to formulate technical advice and to deploy it in policymaking. We demonstrate how the absence of such independence produces economically-wasteful, even developmentally-detrimental, outcomes. This is notable, given the capability of Rwanda’s bureaucracy, the resources available for projects and the strong commitment of ruling elites to long-term development ambitions. By limiting the space for administrators to assert their professional perspective on policymaking and implementation, the executive branch of government and the wider ruling party have created an electricity production system poorly attuned to Rwanda’s energy demand profile, and one that is prohibitively costly, particularly in the African context. Thus, we argue that understanding a state’s development potential involves analysis of the power relations between rulers and the wider state apparatus

Ideology and interests in the Rwandan patriotic front: Singing the struggle in pre-genocide Rwanda

In the study of African Politics, the analysis of political ideologies as a normative engine of political action seems to have receded in favour of a treatment of ideology as the support of actors in their pursuit of material interests. Rwanda is not an exception. The ideology of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) has been predominantly analysed as a self-serving strategy geared towards the reinforcement of the party’s power. Such treatment of ideology prevents a full understanding of the RPF. This article argues that ideology should also be conceptualized as a matrix that can reshape material incentives and through which the RPF’s interests have emerged. To do so, the article analyses new sources of material, the songs of mobilization from RPF members and supporters composed before the Front took power during the genocide, to systematically delineate the RPF’s early ideology. The analysis centres on four main themes—Rwandan national unity, the RPF’s depiction of itself, its depiction of its enemy, and its relationship with the international community—and traces their influence on RPF interests in the post-genocide era. It reveals the surprisingly long-lasting power of ideas despite fast-changing material circumstances.We wish to acknowledge the Aegis Trust and the Leverhulme Trust financial suppor

Equilíbrio e risco de quedas em crianças com deficiência visual

Introdução: O comprometimento do sistema visual pode reduzir a estabilidade, resultando em aumento da oscilação corporal e/ou alteração da estratégia de movimento. Objetivo: Avaliar o equilíbrio em crianças com deficiência visual (DV),em fase escolar. Métodos: Foram avaliados cinco participantes, com diagnóstico de baixa visão (P1 e P5) e cegueira total (P2, P3 e P4). A avaliação foi realizada por meio de questionário, aplicação de teste clínico e avaliação do equilíbrio (EEP e PF BIOMEC 400). Resultados: O escore total da EEP de P1, P2 e P4 foi 56 pontos; de P3, 53; e de P5, 55 pontos. Na PF, P1 e P5 obtiveram melhor manutenção do equilíbrio. Todos os participantes apresentaram dificuldade em ficar em apoio unipodal. Conclusão: As crianças com DV são capazes de realizar as AVDs, mas podem apresentar maior risco de quedas, principalmente nas que exigem a posição unipodal. Introduction: The involvement of the visual system can reduce the stability, re-sulting in increased body sway and/or change in movement strategy. Objective: To evaluate the balance in children with visual impairment (DV) on the school stage. Methods: A total of five participants diagnosed with low vision (P1 and P5) and total blindness (P2, P3 and P4) were analysed. The evaluation was con-ducted through a questionnaire, clinical trial implementationand evaluation of the balance (EEP and PF 400 biomec). Results: The total score of EEP P1, P2 and P4 was 56 points, P3 was 53, and P5 was 55 points. In PF, P1 and P5 had better main-tain balance. All participants had trouble staying on leg support. Conclusion: Children with DV are able to perform ADLs, but may be at greater risk of falls, especially those that require a single leg stance

Multiple-center evaluation of mortality associated with acute kidney injury in critically ill patients: a competing risks analysis

International audienceINTRODUCTION: In this study, we aimed to assess the association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and mortality in critically ill patients using an original competing risks approach. METHODS: Unselected patients admitted between 1997 and 2009 to 13 French medical or surgical intensive care units were included in this observational cohort study. AKI was defined according to the RIFLE criteria. The following data were recorded: baseline characteristics, daily serum creatinine level, daily Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, vital status at hospital discharge and length of hospital stay. Patients were classified according to the maximum RIFLE class reached during their ICU stay. The association of AKI with hospital mortality with "discharge alive" considered as a competing event was assessed according to the Fine and Gray model. RESULTS: Of the 8,639 study patients, 32.9% had AKI, of whom 19.1% received renal replacement therapy. Patients with AKI had higher crude mortality rates and longer lengths of hospital stay than patients without AKI. In the Fine and Gray model, independent risk factors for hospital mortality were the RIFLE classes Risk (sub-hazard ratio (SHR) 1.58 and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.32 to 1.88; P < 0.0001), Injury (SHR 3.99 and 95% CI 3.43 to 4.65; P < 0.0001) and Failure (SHR 4.12 and 95% CI 3.55 to 4.79; P < 0.0001); nonrenal SOFA score (SHR 1.19 per point and 95% CI 1.18 to 1.21; P < 0.0001); McCabe class 3 (SHR 2.71 and 95% CI 2.34 to 3.15; P < 0.0001); and respiratory failure (SHR 3.08 and 95% CI 1.36 to 7.01; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: By using a competing risks approach, we confirm in this study that AKI affecting critically ill patients is associated with increased in-hospital mortality

Seeing Political Settlements through the City: A Framework for Comparative Analysis of Urban Transformation

This article proposes a new analytical framework for studying cities in the developing world based on the ‘political settlements’ approach. This has a dual purpose: to enrich comparative urban development research by bringing new theoretical ideas to bear on this field, but also to use capital cities as a lens to better understand national political settlements. The central argument is that urban built environments and their transformations in situations of late development reflect the workings of different varieties of clientelism, and by analysing the former we can better understand the latter. Specifically, issues such as the nature of urban land use and land allocation, the pace and form of construction, the effectiveness of environmental regulation and the provision of housing for different income groups are all revealing of political settlements and their broader development implications. The potential of this approach is explored through three narrative ‘sketches’ of contemporary urban development in Eastern Africa: the ‘city as marketplace’ (Kampala), the ‘city as expo’ (Kigali) and the ‘city as construction site’ (Addis Ababa). In presenting this framework, the article seeks to advance debate on methodological and analytical approaches to the study of both power relations and differential patterns of urban development