Underdevelopment in Rwanda

Rwanda is a small country in central Africa that is landlocked. The country is divided into two major ethnic groupings, the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi. The two tribes are known to have a long history of strife, which is one of the primary causes of the country's underdevelopment. Rwanda is confronted with horrifying economic, social, and political issues. It has a poor per capita income and a 41-year life expectancy. It has been afflicted by a number of disasters that have hampered its development (Baechler, pg.81). Despite the many extensive efforts by the government and the international inputs, the country remains to be the poorest and underdeveloped in the world with many children separated from parents and refugees fleeing the country to the neighboring countries. In this paper, I will focus on identifying the sources of social, economic and political underdevelopment in the country and how the under development problems are interrelated.

The main causes of underdevelopment in Rwanda are the economic crisis that rages the country with low productivity and high consumption, which is characterized by the large population that the country has. In addition to this, there are social problems that bring about the underdevelopment issues within the country. Due to the ethnic groups’ differences in the country, the country is held up in a tension that consequently crosses over to the productivity ability and political concepts making it hard to develop. Moreover, the political state of the country is not stable enough to allow for development that requires a steady and peaceful environment for fruits to be realized. The political, economic and social factors of underdevelopment have sources, which originate among the people and other environmental aspects in the country (Baechler, pg.81).

Sources of Economic Underdevelopment

There are several causes of economic underdevelopment in Rwanda that ought to be addressed for the country to gear up and match other countries in facilitating economic development. Rwanda has been engulfed in internal conflicts and wars that keep it from developing. Due to the ethnic conflicts within the country, most of its concentration has been shifted in addressing the instability problems rather than focusing on development (Mooney and Schacht, pg. 505). I addition to this, more of the country’s resources that would be used in development are being used up in addressing effects of the conflicts. For instance, the country is spending a lot on healthcare due to the many casualties that are being experienced in the country.

In addition to this, the country is dependent on foreign aid such that it does not take part in its serious productivity. Because of this, there is a spirit of relaxation in the country because foreign aid will address its needs. Due to the over reliance on foreign aid, it is hard for the country to make significant development strategies in the economic state. Moreover, there is intimidation of the country’s economy from the nations providing the economic support (Waller,pg.163).

More into this, the country is not well endorsed with natural resources that are relevant to economic development. Couple with this, there is the aspect of less investment due to lack of interest by foreign investors who are major aids in economic development. Due to the political instability in the country, foreign investors have been scared away taking with them the basis of the economy (Verwimp, pg.1). Consequently, there are no foreign countries that are willing to venture into Rwanda for economic advancement. Based on this, the country is entirely involved in subsistence production with little industrial development rendering it prone to more poverty.

Sources of Social Underdevelopment

Social under development in Rwanda is symbolized by the unrest and equality that happens in the country. Social under development which consequently translates to economic and [political problems have sources in aspects deeply rooted in the grounds of culture and environmental approaches to issue in the society. Violence is one of the leading causes of social underdevelopment in the country. Because of the frequent genocides that occur in Rwanda, there is a mistrust that has developed among the people of the country. As a consequence of the violent eruption, there is the creation of tension and fear among the people making it hard to develop a social basis for interaction and sharing among the people (Mwakikagile, pg.254).

In addition to this, there is racial discrimination among the population of Rwanda. Due to the ethnicity and cultural differences between the ethnic groups in the country, it is hard for the people to develop peaceful social relationships among themselves. The result of the racial and cultural differences is hatred with no basis and violence against each other (Baechler, pg.81). Social under development has also been caused by discrimination that goes on within the country. There are particular groups of people who are discriminated against especially the women in the education system and the minority group of the country. Because of this, there is tension that does not call for right interactions leading to social conflicts.

Furthermore, social underdevelopment is caused by land conflicts that often erupt among the people. Due to the population increase and the small land volume availability in the country, the people are occasionally in land dispute clashes with each other. The funny bit of this is that the land disputes are not entirely between the ethnic groups but mainly among family members and community basis. Therefore, the social aspect is a failure at both family level and national level. Due to this, it is entirely impossible for social development that would translate to national building economically and politically (Waller, pg.166).

Sources of Political Underdevelopment

There are several sources of political underdevelopment in Rwanda. The most obvious source of political development in this country is the political dominance of one ruling group. A dominant president who has made it hard to develop the political aspect of the country has ruled the country. Due to this dictatorship rule, the opposition does not have a say in the political arena of the country. Because of this, the country has the poorest organized political culture that can ever be referred to (Mooney and Schacht, pg.506). Therefore, the primary cause of political underdevelopment in the country can be deemed to be the lack of government change for a long time. Due to lack of political challenge over a long time, the political development has become retardant. The reason for this is the lack of change implementation over the time that the government has been in power repeating the same political strategies that have been used over the time.

Another source of political underdevelopment in the country is the power struggle that exists between the two largest ethnic groups in the country. With each wishing to dominate the political field of the country, there is the aspect of no common ground in the country. The two groups make it impossible for the country to grow politically because they do not approve each other to lead. As a result, there are power tussles between them making it hard for the country to stabilize politically. The common outcomes of these struggles are political fights and disapprovals. With each ethnic group inciting its supporters against the government in power, there is a substantial cause of degradation in within the political context. To add-on, the ethnicity aspect, the country’s power is not balanced and therefore there is always the unfair inclination of power-sharing. This issue draws into consideration the conflicts that are experienced about political disagreements that arise because of unfair treatment of certain people within the country’s population. As a consequence of this, there is political tension in the country preventing any significant moves to make corrections to the already existing government (Verwimp, pg.1).

More into this, the political underdevelopment in Rwanda is caused by the lack of political freedom in the country. The country’s power has been concentrated at the top with the top country leaders being the only resolution makers. The political culture in Rwanda is intimidating which dictates that only the political leaders can take part in any political decisions and changes. The local citizens are not therefore involved in the political process of the country. Their views and opinions for a better political overview are stamped down without consideration. Bearing in mind that the political aspects of a country are an everyday play by all the citizens, it becomes quite difficult for the leaders to facilitate any significant political development. In that context, therefore, Rwanda remains underdeveloped politically due to the political power hierarchy consideration (Mwakikagile, pg.265).

Social, economic and political aspects in a nation are so correlated in a nation that one of them translates to the others. The fact that they are all depended on the citizens’ control makes them interwound such that failure in one leads to failure to the others. For instance, the social basis is the translating determinants of success of the integrative aspect of any community. Therefore when there is social conflict, the productivity of the country is affected thereby leading to underdevelopment in the economic state of the country. In addition to this, social conflicts and poor economy lead to political tension, which consequently leads to political development (Baechler, pg.81).

The major development challenges that are facing Rwanda is the economic problems. The country is recognized for its poor economic state, which translates to poverty and social conflicts. The constant political conflicts lead to the depreciation and worsening of the economic situation of the country due to the poor development and destruction that occurs (Briggs and Booth, pg.6). Additionally, the genocides that have taken place in the country deprive the country of manpower, therefore, making production inefficient thus pushing the economic state further down.

In conclusion, under development in any country arises from its environmental aspects surrounding how people interact, engage each other and facilitate productivity. In that concept, therefore, the implications of such an environment could lead to social incomprehension that would translate to economic failure consequently causing political underdevelopment in the process. It is therefore crucial for nations to look at social, ethnicity, cultural as well as environmental factors that would lead to underdevelopment (Baechler, pg 81). The focus should be to avoid all the three aspects of underdevelopment since they are connected to each other and occurrence of one of them could lead to the other.





Work Cited

Briggs, Philip, and Janice Booth. Rwanda. Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides, 2010. Print.pg.6

Baechler, Günther. Violence Through Environmental Discrimination: Causes, Rwanda Arena, and Conflict Model. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2012. Internet resource. Pg.81

Mwakikagile, Godfrey. Identity Politics and Ethnic Conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi: A Comparative Study. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: New Africa Press, 2012. Print.pg. 253-265

Verwimp, Philip. Peasants in Power: The Political Economy of Development and Genocide in Rwanda. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013. Internet resource.pg.1

Mooney, Linda A, David Knox, and Caroline Schacht. Understanding Social Problems. , 2015. Print.pg.503-507

Waller, James. Confronting Evil: Engaging Our Responsibility to Prevent Genocide. , 2016. Print.pg.163-166