Foreign Policy in Post-Genocide Rwanda: Elite Perceptions of Global Engagement by Jonathan R Beloff

Author:Jonathan R Beloff [Beloff, Jonathan R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, African, Diplomacy, Political Science, World
ISBN: 9781000094510
Google: KjHwDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 51978395
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-07-29T00:00:00+00:00

However, there seems to be debate about whether the fund and its ideology of ‘self-dignity’ came before or after the M23 allegations. In 2012, General Kayizari stated that the fund was a response to international criticism. For him, it was a way for the government to rebuke the leverage that donors have over Rwanda.33 This response to the aid withdrawal follows Jervis’s (1976, 77) theory of how states respond with relatively small policies to at least seem to counteract the action performed by the opposing international actor. However, Nkusi completely disagreed with this notion. He believes that the fund was not established as a response to the 2012 freezing of foreign aid but rather that it was set up before the allegations in 2011 and only began to function after the allegations were made and the aid was cut.34 Governor Rwangombwa shares Nkusi’s beliefs.35 However, his agreement is rather questionable and he continues to discuss the fund in ways that even undermine his own claim. While being responsible for managing an aid-reduced budget in 2012–2013, he called for Rwandans to contribute to reduce the public fiscal deficit. Minister Nduhungirehe finds the midpoint between the two views by commenting, “The agaciro philosophy has always been in Rwanda, but it seemed to be more apparent after the 2012 UN [Group of Experts] report.”36 The 2012 freeze on aid seems to have propelled the tenet of agaciro into the spotlight. Determining when the fund came into being is of little importance in our grander understanding of Rwandan foreign aid beliefs. What is instead important is that it illustrates the belief and identity of moving away from foreign aid.

Foreign aid provides new elements that compose and intertwine the Rwandan government’s tenets of abandonment, self-reliance and security. Past international abandonment has not only caused the loss of lives, but incredible harm to the everyday lives of Rwandans. The fear of foreign aid being taken away when the state government still depends greatly on it for state function is a concern for Rwandan leaders. The Rwandan economy is still not at a level where it could supplement foreign aid if it were withdrawn. Government officials are well aware of this, despite rhetoric and policies stating otherwise. As Senator Rutaremara comments on this contradiction: “When the international community gives money to developing states, there are always reasons for why they do it, and, in the end, it is their money. They can do what they see fit. So, it is important for developing nations to realise this fact.”37 Unlike in other states, informants within the Rwandan government perceive state dependency on foreign aid as a mechanism to promote self-reliance, by using donors’ funding for government development to help spur on a cycle of internal economic growth stemming from a bubble-up effect from local business rather than a trickle-down from foreign aid. Reduction of future reliance on foreign aid can be fostered through current aid amounts being directed towards economic development, with an increase in the domestic tax base for government income.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.