GDI Lecture: The Political Economy of Rwanda's Rise

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In this lecture, GDI’s Pritish Behuria will launch his recent Open Access book, The Political Economy of Rwanda’s Rise. Drawing on a decade of research and more than 580 interviews, this innovative political economy case study explores Rwanda's bold attempt to transform its economy after the 1994 genocide into one of the most rapidly growing countries in Africa. Behuria offers a multi-sector analysis of how globalisation and domestic politics shape contemporary development challenges. This study critically analyses the Rwandan Patriotic Front's ambitions to reshape Rwanda into a regional services hub while grappling with foreign dependency, elite vulnerability and limited financial resources. Through extensive analysis of the political economy of multiple sectors and the macro-economy, Behuria uses the Rwandan case as a window into answering why structural transformation remains so elusive on the continent. The Political Economy of Rwanda's Rise provides fresh insights into highlighting the contemporary challenges facing African countries as they integrate into the global economy. Join us for pizza and drinks at Sandbar following the event! Dr. Pritish Behuria is Reader at the University of Manchester's Global Development Institute. He is a Visting Associate Professor at The University of Johannesburg's South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, as well as a Research Affiliate at the University of Manchester's Sustainable Consumption Institute. He is Editor of the European Journal of Development Research and Reviews Editor of the Journal of Development Studies. He is a member of the Editorial Board of African Affairs and Manchester University Press. He is a Council Member and Trustee of the Development Studies Association (DSA) and runs research groups at the DSA, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and the International Initiative for the Promotion of Political Economy. His research examines the political economy of late development under contemporary globalisation, with extensive research experience in Eastern and Southern Africa, as well as in India.