Twenty Years After Genocide: The Role of Psychology in the Reconciliation and Reconstruction Process in Rwanda
Author(s) / Creator(s)
McGarty, Craig
Abstract / Description
This Special Thematic Section brings together eight papers that showcase different aspects of the contribution of psychology to the processes of recovery in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide. The Section is noteworthy in part because a majority of the papers have Rwandan authors. In summarizing the contributions I make six observations about the remarkable context of the genocide and its aftermath: a) it was distinctive from previous mass violence in its intensity and character; b) it has been characterized by bystander inaction and the problems of positioning outsiders to help; c) hundreds of thousands of accused or convicted perpetrators have lived alongside survivors; d) electronic media played a profound role not only in promoting violence but also in building peace; e) Rwanda has been the site of unprecedented societal interventions with political goals that have the character and content of social psychological experiments; and f) the role of memorialization in repairing or sustaining harm needs further examination. I conclude by noting that the study of recovery is clear proof that the genocide in Rwanda, as is the case with genocides of the past, failed to achieve its aims.
Keyword(s)
reconciliation intergroup conflict psychology and history social change societal interventions Rwanda genocidePersistent Identifier
Date of first publication
2014-12-19
Journal title
Journal of Social and Political Psychology
Volume
2
Issue
1
Page numbers
377–386
Publisher
PsychOpen GOLD
Publication status
publishedVersion
Review status
peerReviewed
Is version of
Citation
McGarty, C. (2014). Twenty Years After Genocide: The Role of Psychology in the Reconciliation and Reconstruction Process in Rwanda. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.449
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Author(s) / Creator(s)McGarty, Craig
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PsychArchives acquisition timestamp2018-11-26T12:44:45Z
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Made available on2018-11-26T12:44:45Z
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Date of first publication2014-12-19
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Abstract / DescriptionThis Special Thematic Section brings together eight papers that showcase different aspects of the contribution of psychology to the processes of recovery in Rwanda following the 1994 genocide. The Section is noteworthy in part because a majority of the papers have Rwandan authors. In summarizing the contributions I make six observations about the remarkable context of the genocide and its aftermath: a) it was distinctive from previous mass violence in its intensity and character; b) it has been characterized by bystander inaction and the problems of positioning outsiders to help; c) hundreds of thousands of accused or convicted perpetrators have lived alongside survivors; d) electronic media played a profound role not only in promoting violence but also in building peace; e) Rwanda has been the site of unprecedented societal interventions with political goals that have the character and content of social psychological experiments; and f) the role of memorialization in repairing or sustaining harm needs further examination. I conclude by noting that the study of recovery is clear proof that the genocide in Rwanda, as is the case with genocides of the past, failed to achieve its aims.en_US
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Publication statuspublishedVersion
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Review statuspeerReviewed
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CitationMcGarty, C. (2014). Twenty Years After Genocide: The Role of Psychology in the Reconciliation and Reconstruction Process in Rwanda. Journal of Social and Political Psychology, 2(1), 377–386. https://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.449en_US
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ISSN2195-3325
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Persistent Identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12034/1353
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Persistent Identifierhttps://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.1705
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Language of contenteng
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PublisherPsychOpen GOLD
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Is version ofhttps://doi.org/10.5964/jspp.v2i1.449
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Keyword(s)reconciliationen_US
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Keyword(s)intergroup conflicten_US
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Keyword(s)psychology and historyen_US
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Keyword(s)social changeen_US
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Keyword(s)societal interventionsen_US
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Keyword(s)Rwandaen_US
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Keyword(s)genocideen_US
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Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)150
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TitleTwenty Years After Genocide: The Role of Psychology in the Reconciliation and Reconstruction Process in Rwandaen_US
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DRO typearticle
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Issue1
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Journal titleJournal of Social and Political Psychology
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Page numbers377–386
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Volume2
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Visible tag(s)Version of Record