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From Conflict to Cohesion: Navigating the role of perceived external threats in shaping Rwandan military professionalism

Jonasson Johansson, Viktor LU (2024) FKVK02 20241
Department of Political Science
Abstract
After the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have continuously posed an existential threat to Rwanda. This paper examines how this external threat has been perceived by the Rwandan government and subsequently responded to through military development measures. In addition, the objective is to evaluate whether these measures have positively or negatively affected military professionalism by analyzing four principles developed by Samuel Huntington. Michael Desch’s theory on threat environments lays the foundation for the additional theory employed in this paper. The author adopts a qualitative single-case study, in which government publications... (More)
After the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have continuously posed an existential threat to Rwanda. This paper examines how this external threat has been perceived by the Rwandan government and subsequently responded to through military development measures. In addition, the objective is to evaluate whether these measures have positively or negatively affected military professionalism by analyzing four principles developed by Samuel Huntington. Michael Desch’s theory on threat environments lays the foundation for the additional theory employed in this paper. The author adopts a qualitative single-case study, in which government publications form the basis for the material, to provide a comprehensive analysis of the measures between 1994 and 2024. The paper finds that the perceived external threat has prolonged the collective memory of the genocide and prompted the Rwandan government to adopt several measures that have effectively professionalized the officer corps. However, the Rwandan government has simultaneously employed a skewed historical narrative to legitimize continued domestic militarization. (Less)
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author
Jonasson Johansson, Viktor LU
supervisor
organization
course
FKVK02 20241
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Professionalism, officer corps, perceived external threat, liberation struggle, militarization
language
English
id
9154049
date added to LUP
2024-07-18 14:05:26
date last changed
2024-07-18 14:05:26
@misc{9154049,
  abstract     = {{After the Rwandan genocide ended in 1994, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have continuously posed an existential threat to Rwanda. This paper examines how this external threat has been perceived by the Rwandan government and subsequently responded to through military development measures. In addition, the objective is to evaluate whether these measures have positively or negatively affected military professionalism by analyzing four principles developed by Samuel Huntington. Michael Desch’s theory on threat environments lays the foundation for the additional theory employed in this paper. The author adopts a qualitative single-case study, in which government publications form the basis for the material, to provide a comprehensive analysis of the measures between 1994 and 2024. The paper finds that the perceived external threat has prolonged the collective memory of the genocide and prompted the Rwandan government to adopt several measures that have effectively professionalized the officer corps. However, the Rwandan government has simultaneously employed a skewed historical narrative to legitimize continued domestic militarization.}},
  author       = {{Jonasson Johansson, Viktor}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{From Conflict to Cohesion: Navigating the role of perceived external threats in shaping Rwandan military professionalism}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}