The Role of the Bourgmestres during the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda

Abstract:  In this thesis I use qualitative comparative methods to analyze The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) court transcripts related to bourgmestres who were in office at the time of the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994. I argue that a few bourgmestres resisted the genocide, others engaged in the genocide after a short-lived resistance, while a larger number totally engaged in the genocide. I propose that moral disengagement and dehumanization, altruistic dispositions, or deep-seated ethno-nationalist convictions help account for the different actions and attitudes of the bourgmestres in the genocide. Finally, I found that the Rwandan government implemented genocide regardless of the opposition, the direct and/or indirect involvement of the concerned bourgmestres.   Key words: genocide, bourgmestre, Rwanda, ICTR, commune, actions, attitudes.