I: INTRODUCTION
In analyzing the Rwanda genocide, author Helen Hintjens uses three explanations to decipher the causes of the genocide. They are as follows: "(i) a focus on external influences, both colonial and neo-colonial; (ii) a focus on domestic causes, including demographic factors and 'ethnic' conflict; and (iii) a psychosocial account based on the presumed social conformism and obedience of Rwandans"[1]. A similar framework is used in this essay in at attempt to make sense of the genocide. In many analyses of the genocide, ethnicity is used as the only structure through which the massacre is addressed. Furthermore, both Rwanda's internal media and the Western media constructed the event as conflict being played out on ethnic terms by Hutu and Tutsi. A review of the numerous factors that contributed to the genocide such as colonization, the economy, the psychological and sociological effects and Rwanda's political climate are addressed here. Although it is inappropriate to address ethnicity as the sole source of the genocide, it is true that it was used as the tool with which the genocide was made possible and is thus spoken to here. -top-

II: COLONIZATION
The colonial era had lasting effects on the country of Rwanda. Through the colonialist's techniques of divide and conquer, they constructed and imposed strong ethnic groups that would change the fate of the country forever. From the time of the
German and Belgian occupation, the Tutsi were treated as a race superior to that of the Hutu. They were privileged over the Hutu and awarded esteemed positions in the government and other offices of power. These early divides within the nation created a sense of competition between the groups and as a result of these tensions, the country had been in and out of civil war through the time of the genocide. It is through the logic of colonialism that the international community must view the events in Rwanda. Without understanding the origin of these clashes, a true comprehension of the genocide and its reasons for happening can never be reached.-top-

III: THE ECONOMY

Since the time of colonialism, Rwanda had been almost solely dependant on the export of coffee. Through the 1980s, they experienced a series of severe environmental changes that affected their ability to export mass quantities of coffee. Furthermore, as the international price of coffee fell in the mid to late 1980s, the country felt the strain of having to compete in the market. Their relationship with international trade, in conjunction with the effects of environmental changes, erosion, and poverty, as well as the "exhaustion of a top-down, immobilizing development model that had been followed for decades"[2] were among the most predominant of contributing factors. In an attempt to revive the country from the depths of their economic despair, Rwanda signed a $90 million Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) with the World Bank in 1991. One of the original goals of the SAP was to boost Rwanda's coffee exports and reduce their imports. In the process of these attempts, a 40% devaluation of the Rwandese franc was implemented in 1990, which was followed by another 15% devaluation in June 1992.
Through their relationship with the World Bank, not only was their currency devalued, but the government's social programs were also cut. These cuts resulted in an increase in the costs of school fees, health care, and water fees. [3]. A striking connection between the Rwandan economy and the 1994 genocide is that much of the country's economic instability was blamed on the Tutsi, RPF, and their allies. Furthermore, the presence of international aid and development workers that were stationed in Rwanda made clear the enormity of the economic destitute of the country. The plentitude of Land Rovers, large houses, and extravagant life-styles of the international community were constant reminders of the economic divide between the Rwandan population and the development workers.-top-

IV: POLITICS
The civil war in Rwanda that started in the early 1990s had many significant effects of the country as a whole. It disrupted their agricultural systems, putting a strain upon the production and distribution of food for the population as well as the country's exports.[4] As mentioned above, this change had strong repercussions upon the economic system. The combination of displacement and agricultural distress lead to the spread of famine.[5] A strong connection between the civil war and the climate that lead to the genocide is the belief that Tutsi were the cause of the country's distress and in order to regain stability within the country the should be eliminated.
In the end, the government in power, who advocated for a Hutu uprising, and were in favor of eliminating Tutsi, ended up losing the war. The tensions in Rwanda that lead to the civil war, "discredited the army, fragmented the political class, and divided it into two hostile sections, each blaming the other for losing the war"[6]. As the Arusha Accords began, goals of power sharing were in the forefront of policy decisions. The hope was that a redistribution of power would lead to peace within the country. The hope was that the government would share power with the RPF rebels, but the MRND and Habyarimana's regime were not interested in any sort of power-sharing agreement. This conflict made strong contributions to the initiation of the genocide, and could be considered to be the main force behind its happening.
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V: PSYCHOLOGICAL/SOCIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
The effects of past ethnic discrimination and oppression against the Hutu majority clearly helped in leading them to violently act out in opposition. Through the colonial tactics of "divide and conquer" and "indirect rule", a firm segregate between the Hutu and Tutsi was created. Through these systems, the Tutsi minority was favored and supported over time. From these divides, hostility grew between the groups and as individuals began to cling to their own ethnicity, they also began to harbor increasing aggression towards the other group. A tendency of opportunism, in which people engaged in violent acts because they saw other people participating, was also present. Furthermore, people's tendency is to want to assimilate into the larger group. In this case, as the majority of Hutu were engaged in the genocide, their technique for involving the rest of the Hutu population was usually intimidation. Hannah Arendt's theory of the "banality of evil" in which "ordinary people participate in genocides because there are a small part in the machine controlled and organized from above"[7], could be one of the most influential aspects of the genocide. Although looking at the individual perpetrators of the genocide is a necessary part of attempting to heal the wounds of the disaster, the issues are greater than the particular acts of individual people. Those who were involved in the organizing of the genocide, such as the officials of the Rwandan regimes, the French government, those who controlled Rwanda's internal media, as well as the entire international community played huge roles in allowing for the genocide to occur. -top-

VI: ETHNIC POLARIZATION
The massacre of Tutsi by Hutu during the time of the genocide was generated from years of increasing polarization and fighting that had begun during the time of colonialism in the late 1890s. Similar to many scholars of genocide, author Peter Uvin believes that, "real-world socioeconomic and political differences are ultimately responsible for ethnic conflict, while ethnicity per se is only a symptom of the problem"[8]. In many discourses, particularly in the Western media, ethnicity has been targeted as the most influential of factors leading up to the massacre. In the months preceding the genocide, as well as during the actual massacre, ethnic and racial hate propaganda was disseminated throughout the Rwandan media. This propaganda contributed to the perpetuation of killing, as well as increased the division between the Hutu and Tutsi. Although scholars have moved away from reviewing the genocide only in the context of ethnicity, it would be a falsity to ignore the obvious effects that it did have on its creation and execution. The contribution that race and ethnicity had upon the genocide are clear, but as mentioned in the above section, many of the parameters of ethnic segregation arose out of colonialism. Ethnicity cannot be viewed as the cause of the genocide, but rather as a tool with which the organizers of the genocide facilitated the execution of close to 1 million Tutsi. -top-

VII: CONCLUSION

In looking at the Rwanda genocide, and the reasons for which it came about, it is fundamental that people review the many possible contributory factors. It is necessary that people look back to the trends created during the time of colonialism and have been played out right through the genocide. The causes of the genocide that are listed here are not a complete assessment of the many explanations. They are some of the things that had an effect on the execution of the genocide, and it is important to recognize the other possible contributions that resulted in the 1994 tragedy.-top-

ENDNOTES
1. Hintjens, Helen M. "Explaining the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda." Journal of Modern African Studies 37 (1999): 241-286. (243).
2. Uvin, Peter. Aiding Violence; The Development Enterprise in Rwanda. West Hartford: Kumarian, 1998. (57)
3. Newbury, David. "Understanding Genocide." African Studies Review 41 (1998): 73-97.
4. Mamdani, Mahmood. When Victims Become Killers; Colonialism, Nativism, and the Genocide in Rwanda. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. 198
5. Ibid
6. Mamdani 203
7. Uvin, 214
8. Ibid 208
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