The Order of Genocide : The Dynamics of Genocide in Rwanda

To begin, I’d like to describe the origins of the research project that ultimately became The Order of Genocide. I first traveled to Rwanda as a journalist in the mid-1990s, and, during my travels there and in what was then Zaire, I became deeply interested in the dynamics that ultimately led to the 1994 genocide. From my perspective as a journalist traveling in the region, the genocide was an absolutely seminal event, but one that was poorly understood. Eventually I returned to the United States and began a PhD program in political science at the University of California, Berkeley, where I began to study the origins of genocide and mass violence, African politics, and the history of the Great Lakes region. The Order of Genocide is based on my PhD dissertation. Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Tampa Library at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Straus, Scott (2007) "The Order of Genocide : The Dynamics of Genocide in Rwanda," Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal: Vol. 2: Iss. 3: Article 6. Available at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/gsp/vol2/iss3/6 The Order of Genocide: The Dynamics of Genocide in Rwanda Scott Straus Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin, Madison