Autobiographical representations of the Rwanda genocide and black diasporic identities in Africa

Abstract

This article uses the example of the Rwandan genocide to deconstruct notions of African diaspora based on margin to centre and pull and push factors. Representing patterns of African migrations and diasporas through the autobiographical mode reveals multiple genocides that took place not only in Rwanda but in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Umutesi's novel, Surviving the Slaughter: The Ordeal of a Rwandan Refugee in Zaire (2004) complicates our standard understanding of what is known of genocide in Africa, forcing us to revise our notions of diaspora because the autobiographical narrative highlights differences within a single refugee diaspora. Umutesi's personal account of the links between genocide and diaspora in the Great Lakes Region interrogates the very authority that is accorded individual subjectivities in autobiographical works of Africa. The contingent nature of African politics, particularly, within the unnatural context of genocide renders African identities transient and perpetually diasporic.     

Difficult choices in the new post-conflict agenda: the international community in Rwanda after the genocide

Since the genocide, development agencies have spent tens of millions of dollars in Rwanda on justice, governance, security and reconciliation - issues they used to consider far beyond their mandate until very recently. As a result, Rwanda has emerged as one of the countries where the new postconflict agenda is being most strongly implemented, under extremely difficult conditions. An analysis of donor behaviour in two high politics areas - the nature of the government and justice - shows that deep and unresolved ethical problems exist with this post-conflict agenda. Lack of information and understanding, conflicts between goals and principles, the difficulty of associating the people concerned in an equitable manner - all these and other issues render unclear the ethical basis upon which donors can base decisions which often have life and death implications for thousands of people.     

The social foundations of global production networks: towards a global political economy of child labour

The resilience of the problem of child labour in the global economy has been amply documented, but, we suggest, the reasons for this situation have not yet been fully captured in the associated debates. Our aim is to advance a way of thinking about those forms of child labour which occur in the context of global production networks (gpns), and to contend that greater attention must be paid to the organisation and functioning of gpns, and the social foundations on which they rest, if we are to grasp more fully the conditions and processes which facilitate the persistence and evolution of child labour. The way of thinking we propose is rooted in the concept of ‘adverse incorporation’ in the global economy, which we develop by drawing together currents in gpn analysis and poverty research to explore the commercial and social dynamics in gpns which give rise to these forms of labour exploitation. We illustrate our arguments with reference to the garments industry in New Delhi, India.     

The less developed countries and the global economy

The Transnational Corporation and Uneven Development: The Internationalisation of Capital and the Third World. By Rhys Jenkins. London: Methuen, 1987. Pp.229. £28 (hardback); £8.95 (paperback). ISBN 0 416 733409 and 73350 6.

Developing With Foreign Investment. Edited by Vincent Cable and Bishnodat Persaud. Beckenham: Croom Helm, 1987. Pp.viii + 327. £25. ISBN 0 7099 4825 5.

International Industry and Business: Structural Change, Industrial Policy and Industry Strategies. By Robert H. Ballance. London: Allen & Unwin, 1987. Pp.xxi + 357. ISBN 0 04 339037 4 and 339038 2.

Trade Among Multinationals: Intra‐Industry Trade and National Competitiveness. By Donald C. MacCharles. London: Croom Helm, 1987. Pp. xiv + 207. £30. ISBN 07099 4618 X.

Myths and Reality of External Constraints on Development. By James Riedel. Alder‐shot: Gower for the Trade Policy Research Centre, London, 1987. Pp.xvi + 111. ISBN 0566 05336 5.

International Economic Restructuring and the Regional Community. Edited by Herman Muegge and Walter Stohr. Aldershot: Gower, 1987. Pp.x + 404. £28.50. ISBN 0566 05478 1.     

Sectoral linkages at the beginning of the 21st century: The role of Polish economy in global production structures

This paper provides a first attempt in analyzing the role of Polish economy in the production structure of the global economy in the early years of the 21st century. For the purpose of this analysis, we propose a new approach in which two most important aspects of interindustry linkages in a global input-output model are examined. Contrary to previous studies focused on output-oriented key sector analyses in post-communist CEE economies, we focus on a fundamental policy target variable – income per gross output. In order to analyze the issues in question in a dynamic framework, the empirical results are based on the 2000 and 2014 global intercountry input-output tables for the 28 EU countries as well as 15 other major countries in the world.     

The political economy of global firms from India and China

This article attempts to build a bridge between contemporary studies of global firms from emerging economies and existing theories in comparative political economy. It argues that given the primacy of the state as an economic actor in developing countries, the variety of capitalism literature could provide a theoretical foundation for firm-level analyses of emerging market multinationals. For example, the authors suggest that China and India may be moving towards a ‘hybrid market economy’. They also offer a typology of Indian and Chinese corporates to demonstrate an empirical approach to analysing domestic business–government relationships and the ways in which these firms are shaped by the peculiarities of their respective institutional setting. Finally, they identify some of the likely pitfalls of doing cross-national comparisons of emerging market multinationals, particularly with respect to the reliability of corporate data.     

Structural change and neoliberalism in Mexico: 'Passive revolution' in the global political economy

This article examines an enduring context of 'passive revolution' in the making of modern Mexico by developing an account of the rise of neoliberalism during a period of structural change since the 1970s. It does so by analysing and understanding both the unfolding accumulation strategy and the hegemonic project of neoliberalism in Mexico since the 1970s as emblematic of the survival and reorganisation of capitalism through a period of state crisis. This is recognised as a strategy of 'passive revolution', the effects of which still leave an imprint on present development initiatives in Mexico. Therefore, through the notion of 'passive revolution', the article not only focuses on the recent past circumstances, but also on the present unfolding consequences, of neoliberal capitalist development in Mexico. This approach also leaves open the question of 'anti-passive revolution' strategies of resistance to neoliberalism.     

Behind an Offshore Mask: sovereignty games in the global political economy

This study of global financial flows and offshore financial centres (OFCs) draws on the concept of nomadology as developed by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari to argue that OFCs not only facilitate the circulation of global capital, but also serve to create the means for identity arbitrage. This concept highlights the use of the offshore in order to benefit from the variety of preferential measures offered to foreign firms and investment capital. State sovereignty authorises legislation by regimes to attract and regulate foreign investment. International banking statistics are examined for indications of the use of and impact from exploiting the offshore to establish a different national identity in pursuit of the greatest available return on investment. The paper concludes that the design of legislation by onshore states is just as complicit in the positive and negative effects of the offshore economy as are the small sovereign economies that host an OFC.     

Globalisation studies and the developing world: making international political economy truly global

For all the rhetoric surrounding globalisation, its meaning remains both vague and elusive and symbolises a host of different things to different people. In the main, however, most studies are marked by a restricted theoretical and empirical base, which precludes such studies from being truly global. They are generally predicated on selected examples from the core, with an occasional nod in the direction of experiences outside the familiar. While there are sporadic references to Asia and Latin America (invariably in the context of collapsing currencies and capital flight) there is almost no mention at all of Africa, South Asia, the Pacific region or Central Asia. That this neglect impoverishes the discipline of International Political Economy (ipe) is self-evident. It is argued that an ipe that is comparative by nature and takes into account the multi-variegated nature by which globalisation affects the global political economy, in particular recognising that the developing world has been, to a large extent, left out of the debate, is required if we are to make ipe truly global in scope.     

Southeast Asian industrialisation and the changing global production system

The diversion of foreign direct investment ( fdi ) flows into developing Asia, from Southeast Asia to China, has renewed doubts about whether Southeast Asia's traditional reliance on fdi has left the region without the local capabilities required to sustain the region's long-term competitiveness. Southeast Asia's industrialisation has involved deepening integration into international production networks, comprising internal exchanges between multinational corporations ( mnc s) and their subsidiaries, affiliates and subcontractors. While indigenous industry has been secondary to Southeast Asian industrialisation, this paper highlights three elements of local technological accumulation and clustering within foreign-dominated export industries: production deepening, co-location of design, engineering and R&D with off-shore manufacturing, and the spatial clustering of mnc s in particular industry segments. Southeast Asian governments have responded to these trends by broadening investment promotion from manufacturing to business services and regional headquarters operations, by targeting incentives and infrastructure development to foster industrial clusters, and by invigorating technical support programmes for local small and medium-sized enterprises ( sme s) in supporting industries. Taken together, these trends suggest that Southeast Asia will remain an important site within multinationals' international production networks.     

Constraints to agricultural production in Africa: A survey of female farmers in the Ruhengeri prefecture of Rwanda

Traditional thinking in development has emphasized the ability of the peasant farm system to adapt or ”restructure” itself during periods of intense population pressure. Adaptation typically takes the form of intensifying the exploitation of existing land and/or expansion of the resource base. This paper takes issue with that assertion and suggests that in the context of rapid social and institutional change, environmental degradation, and rampant increases in population, adaptation cannot be relied on to maintain equilibrium. The basis for the recommendations made here is a survey of 192 women farmers in Ruhengeri prefecture of Rwanda in east central Africa. Findings suggest that (1) Rwanda is experiencing serious demographic and environmental problems; (2) the traditional mechanisms of adaptation can no longer be relied upon to bring about equilibrium; and (3) the women of Rwanda are the conduits of change since they contribute the largest percentage of agricultural labor and have the most responsibility for operation of farms and production of agricultural output. In light of these findings, it is clear that special attention must be focussed on policy initiatives geared toward reducing population growth, facilitating innovation/information diffusion, restructuring the extension service, and reducing gender biases.     

Where does your coffee dollar go?: The division of income and surplus along the coffee commodity chain

This article analyzes the division of the total income and surplus generated along the coffee commodity chain during the period 1971–1995. Until the late 1980s, coffee growers and producing states retained over a third of the total income and about half of the total surplus that was available. This was due in part to the collective actions of coffee-producing states, which led to the imposition of a regulatory regime involving export quotas, creating rents for the producing countries. By the late 1980s, coffee TNCs had consolidated their control over core markets, and began to use their market power to increase their shares of both income and surplus. This shift was greatly accelerated by the breakdown of the export quota regime in 1989. The article concludes that these results necessitate a reformulation of commodity chain analysis. John M. Talbot received his doctorate in sociology from UC, Berkeley, this year. His dissertation is titled “Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain.” This is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington, D.C., August 19–23, 1995. Portions of this analysis were also presented at the annual meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, San Francisco, April 6–8, 1995.