The Politics of National Unity and Reconciliation in Rwanda: Everyday Resistance to an Imposed Public Face

This article takes a look at everyday gestures of resistance on the part of ordinary Rwandans to the policy of national unity and reconciliation introduced by the government following the genocide. It studies three forms of everyday resistance – staying on the sidelines, irreverent conformism or detached silence – adopted by some when they interact, avoid or face government demands related to this policy. The article concludes that, for some Rwandans, the policy has produced merely a semblance of unity and reconciliation in everyday life.