The Political Economy of Rwanda's Rise
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
- Venue
- SOAS Senate House (SALT)
- Room
- Alumni Lecture Theatre
- Event type
- Seminar
About this event
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.
Pritish 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.
About the speaker
Pritish Behuria is Reader in Politics, Governance and Development and Director of Research at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. He is also a Visiting Associate Professor at the South African Research Chair in Industrial Development at The University of Johannesburg. He has previously worked at The London School of Economics and Political Science, as well as SOAS. He is the author of The Political Economy of Rwanda's Rise (published with Cambridge University Press in 2026), as well as over 25 articles in leading journals in development studies, African studies and international political economy. His research examines the political economy of late development under contemporary globalisation, with extensive research experience in Eastern and Southern Africa. He is a Council Member of the Development Studies Association (DSA), and also leads research groups at the DSA, the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes and the International Initiative for the Promotion of Political Economy.
Chair: Phil Clark, Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS University of London
This event co-hosted by the Department of Politics and International Studies (Africa cluster) and the SOAS Global Development Seminar Series, the SOAS Centre of African Studies and the Royal African Society.
Image credit: Dieuvain Musaghi via Unsplash
