Post-1994, the Rwandan military went through a process of de-ethnicitisation, institutionalising reforms with the intent of moving soldiers from focussing on Hutu and Tutsi ‘ethnic’ identities to possessing a national Rwandan identity in an effort to build the Rwandan state.
The Rwandan national military has emerged as a leading player in the effort to rebuild and reconstruct post-1994 Rwanda. The military has constructed itself as an ideal for what it means to be Rwandan. Through re-socialisation in the military institution, through re-education of the general population and through the image of heroes the military has been a key institution in (re)building Rwanda.
This paper will examine why the domestic dynamics of state formation and the role that the military has played in this. The focus will be on the military’s role in peacebuilding in Rwanda in terms of identity formation and re-construction. I will argue that the idea of the military as a school of the nation was adopted by the Rwandan government as a tool for creating security and overcoming a history of conflict.
The foundation for the paper builds upon fieldwork undertaken in Rwanda in 2012. I spend 6 months undertaking interviews, questionnaires and observation with the Rwandan Defence Forces as well as the political leadership in Rwanda.
