Rwanda ‘ s Liberation velopment aid or even natural resources form neighboring countries . But both development aid and natural resources do exist in other countries without leading to similar socio-economic change . Beyond factual misrepresentations , what these two school of thought have trouble with is to explain how internationally reviewed social change can occur without the agency of the normal citizens .
There are other scholars who explain modern Rwanda through the prism of developmental patrimonialism or elite vulnerability . Again , these theories cannot account for RPF ’ s ideology at a time the RPF was not in power . Yet that is when eight of the nine political choices in the RPF manifesto were drafted . In addition there is ample evidence of ideological production in seminars , publications and recorded speeches before 1994 . In addition , there are other important seminars of political ideology such as the Urugwiro Debates , which took place at a time the RPF did not have yet any resource at hand . In fact , this experience holds a universal truth : whoever has been in leadership knows that it all starts with a vision , not with resources .
What remains difficult for some observers is the acknowledgement of homegrown agency . This problem is in fact linked to the absence of an international ideological affiliation of the RPF . Indeed , one of the reasons some observers tend to deny RPF ’ s ideological motivation is that RPF ’ s ideology is uniquely home-grown . It does not benefit from the ambit of an international ideology , such as the Ethiopian EPRDF with Marxism . Thus , RPF committed the double sin of thinking differently and uniquely .
The fight for ideological ownership between Rwanda and the West has been there right since the RPF came to power . Policies such as Umudugudu Villages or unity and reconciliation were highly contested by Western scholars . In fact , they rivaled in predicting the end of the RPF in the near future right in 1994 . Ironically , the acerbic contestation of RPF ’ s policy choices had the reverse effect : it reinforced the view that external validation of ideas was not useful . This fight is likely to continue as long as Rwanda will still receive official development aid . Ironically , once policy choices are implemented successfully , development agencies are the first to refer to them .
Truth be told , the RPF was thus far reluctant to indulge into an ideological grand strategy , preferring a pragmatic approach driven by socio-economic indicators . Loyal to the famous dictum of Amilcal Cabral : “ Struggle is daily action against ourselves and against the enemy .
Twenty five years after the Genocide against Tutsis , two factors have however changed the debate around the ideology of the RPF . On the one hand , there is a generational shift within the RPF whereby majority of its rank and file as well as a good number of its National Executive Committee are from a generation that has not participated in the struggle . On the other hand , a dozen of African countries frequently conduct Study Tours to Rwanda , thereby forcing the architects of modern Rwanda to constitute an internationally transferrable narrative .
There are today clear signs of the constitution of a body of knowledge around the ideas of the RPF . Senior cadres such as Logan Ndahiro have published their diary and a film has just been produced about the Campaign against Genocide . Incidentally , the Chairman of the RPF is Africa ’ s most communicative leader , the speeches and videos are instantly archived and digitized for the public . The coming out of age of the country also coincides with am increasing number of local publications written by Rwandans and Rwandans receiving international book prices .
These works will have to be completed scientifically by epistemological research , such that the RPF ideology can be put in the wider context of African Liberation Struggle . This is not just an academic imperative but a matter of national security . As landlocked country with large Rwandophone communities outside her borders , Rwanda depends on African integration to thrive economically . _
Serge Kamuhinda is a Rwandan national and CEO of a private company based in Kigali with operation across Africa .
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