To what extent were ethnic tensions the primary cause of the Rwandan genocide?
To what extent were ethnic tensions the primary cause of the Rwandan genocide? This essay will explore the history of relations between the Tutsis and Hutus in Rwanda in order to determine whether or not ethnic rivalries were the primary cause of the 1994 genocide. The impact of colonialism and racism will be investigated along with the importance of French interests in the country following independence. It will be shown how financial interests had a profound influence on events as did the rousing of ethnic tensions for political pragmatism by both the Belgian colonizers and their Rwandan successors. Propaganda also played a prominent role in which the Tutsis were dehumanized and the Hutus were radicalized in order for them to carry out the genocide. This paper will conclude that as Habyarimana's regime and the interests of his foreign supporters was threatened by the power-sharing agreement contained in the Arusha Peace Accords; genocide was instigated in order to remove the opposition posed. First of all, a brief outline of the genocide itself will be given. The genocide began within hours of the presidential assassination of Presidents Habyarimana of Rwanda and Ntaryamira of Burundi. Their plane was shot down with a surface-to-air missile on 6 April 1994 as they were returning from an international meeting in Dar-es-Salaam at which Habyarimana "had finally agreed
Expressions of German Nationalism 1815-1847
Expressions of German Nationalism 1815-1847 1815 was the year of the Congress of Vienna and the formation of the Confederation of German States. These conferences followed the ceasing of hostilities against France and a re-construction of European power relations as they were before the Thermidorian influence of the French revolution extended outside its natural borders through French occupation of much of Europe. The cause was liberalism and constitutional government but was eventually to become an expression of the megalomaniac tendencies of the French leader. The experience of the German people under French occupation had been mixed but the wars of liberation provided an opportunity for a sense of unity to develop amongst the German speaking peoples. The German Confederation arising from the Congress of Vienna consisted of 39 states and 4 free cities. The Hapsburg Empire and the Prussian Kingdom were the leading influences in this new structure that was essentially a revised version of the Holy Roman Empire. The period between 1815 and 1847 is traditionally known as 'The Restoration' as the policies of the German confederation during this period revolved around the restoration of absolute rule by monarchs. The statesman Metternich represented the Austrian-Hapsburg Empire in the Confederation and it was under his direction that policies were developed and
Alexander the Great and His Army.
Alexander the Great and His Army Alexander the Great and His Army by Gerald L. Conroy PEACE. More is written about peace than any other word in our language. There isn't another word in today's world that represents so much to so very many. It is not just wanted or desired, it is prayed for as few, if any, other things are. Peace, here on the threshold of the 21st century, the beginning of the Third Millennium, is almost a religion in itself. We wage war to gain peace. This does not, to us, detract from victory in any way for that is the successful culmination of war. We think past victory to peace. This is what we fought for - peace! Now we will change our conditioning about peace as the supreme objective of war as we consider, 2300 years in the past, the wars of Alexander the Great. The reason for this change is that Alexander had an entirely different objective for waging war. Alexander dedicated himself to glory, glory gained on the field of battle. Because he was King of Macedon, an absolute monarch, the entire country was his instrument to glory, Alexander and Macedon were one. Implicit in this dedication to glory is the necessity that war is a constant, there is always a present war. The absence of war eliminates the potential for gaining glory. Unless we consider the wars of Alexander in this way, we miss his raison' d'etre.1 Alexander was surly one of
Which battle can we consider to have been the most important turning point in the Greco-Persian wars?
Which battle can we consider to have been the most important turning point in the Greco-Persian wars? The Greco-Persian wars of 498 BC to 448 BC were a clash between two completely contrasting cultures. The Achaemenid Persian Empire stretched from the subdued Ionian Greek city states on the shore of Asia Minor to the Indus River bordering India and was ruled zealously by God-Kings in Persepolis, the capital of the Empire. On the contrary, the land we now know as Greece was a collection of small, aggressive city states that managed to put aside their many differences, and, against the overwhelming odds stacked against them, turned back the might of the Persian army from within their own territories. The Hellenic city - states that fought against the Persian Empire certainly defied the odds, but when and how did the tide change? Most Historians agree on a number of battles between 490 and 479 BC, but opinion is still somewhat divided as to which battle provided the exact turning point from the initial dominance of Persia to the Hellenic city states gaining the upper hand. In this essay, I will investigate the four key battles of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis and Plataea and will attempt to explain their significance within the war1. The battle of Marathon took place in the late summer of 490 BC, during the first Invasion of Greece, organised by King Darius I. When Persian
Was the industrial Revolution a good thing?
Was the industrial Revolution a good thing? The Industrial Revolution was a series of many changes that took place in Great Britain from 1750 to 1900. There is much controversy as to whether the changes were for better or for worse and to whether the Industrial Revolution was a good thing or a bad thing. Some people say that it improved peoples' lives, and that technology and entertainment got better. They say that Britain was made a great, rich and powerful country. Others disagree and say that it was a bad thing and that during the Industrial Revolution there were terrible working and living conditions and many people suffered because of the changes that took place. They also say that it caused a lot of pollution and that it changed many people's lifestyles for the worse. In this essay I will investigate the bad and then the good things that happened to people's lives in Britain between 1750 and 1900 and then make up my own mind as to whether the Industrial Revolution was a good thing or not. In the early 1700's a lot of people worked on the land. Nearly all of the people that didn't work on the farms worked in their homes, spinning or weaving. Most families spun and wove in the same room as they did all of their domestic chores. This room was usually quite full, with the children, adults and even the elderly all helping to produce wool and cloth. This was a good idea,
Asses the relative role of ideology and circumstances in the emergence and development of a resistance movement in France between 1940-1944
Assess the relative role of ideology and circumstance in the emergence and development of a resistance movement in France between 1940 and 1944 The French resistance to the Nazi occupation was not immediate although hostility was already shown by many French people to the Nazi occupation and very few hostility was transformed into action. The French responses to the Nazi occupation and also Vichy regime varied enormously according to James F. McMillan. In the occupied south, resistance was driven by left-wing political stance, while some looking at the 1940 fall of France as a reason to construct a new and better political order as opposed to the old one and others perceived resistance as a natural outcome of the French pre-war attitude.1 It is said that Charles de Gaulle came up with the French term "resistance" and since then became a catch-phrase to describe a nation's struggle against Nazism in post-1945 Western European culture. The practical description of resistance of the French resistance to the Nazi as such, Bob Moore describes as, 'the image of an armed struggle against the enemy; of sabotage actions, assassinations, escape lines and secret agents risking their lives in pursuit of an ultimate Allied victory'.2 This description by Moore completely makes sense as France alongside her allies was in concerted efforts battling Germany since 1939 before the fall of
Many of the set texts involve a physical journey of some kind (Perfume and The Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World) Choose two texts and examine the significance of these journeys in the relation to the philosophy that informs each text.
Many of the set texts involve a physical journey of some kind (Perfume and The Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World) Choose two texts and examine the significance of these journeys in the relation to the philosophy that informs each text. Any physical journey is coerced and guided by cognitive processes and societal influences; this paper will follow and critique the journey of two authoratic constructions, Suskind's Grenouille (Perfume) and Murakami's Calcutec (Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World), . The physical journey that is undertaken by our two character constructions is initiated by the Deleuzian notion of 'Desire'i, and quickly becomes not only a physical journey but a psychological journey to a state of consciousness. It is an attempt on the part of the authors to create a conundrum for their character representations. The authors explore the processes of how the protagonists might be seen as attempting to find their connection within the societal structure that has become the closed or restrictive. Herein the creative force of desire is destined by definition to destroy that same structure, and ultimately reterritorialiseii the protagonist. In the case of the construct Grenouille, his starting point in the story, his conception and entrance into the world mirror his exit; the absence of bodily odour destroys his ability to achieve an
The Re-Unification Of Germany.
The Re-Unification Of Germany Contents * Introduction * Ostpolitik - Its Origins and Aims * Towards Unity * The Fall of the Wall * Unification * Attitudes and Strategies of the Four Powers -The USA -The USSR -Great Britain -France * Alternatives to Unification * The Legacy of Division Introduction The German Democratic Republic commemorated the fortieth anniversary of its formation on October 7th 1989 amid a mass of military parades and fanfare salutes. Whilst it was intended to be a joyous occasion, it was, for many, a day of great sorrow. Forty years of the GDR represented forty years of living in poverty and fear rather than forty years of successful socialism. The division of Germany, a temporary measure taken by the victorious allies in the aftermath of World War II, appeared to take on a new permanency in the wake of these celebrations. Few East Germans would have believed that in just over a month the Berlin Wall, a symbol of division which had split Europe since 1961, would have collapsed and with it the sprawling Communist empire that was the USSR. Less than a year later the GDR would also cease to exist, its people and territory becoming part of a united Germany few believed they would live to see. The re-unification of Germany came as a shock not just to the people of East Germany but also to the wider global community. From the rumblings of
History Extension Major Work Postmodernism . It is the feature of postmodernism and examples of texts or artistic pieces that encompass these techniques that is the basis of my essay. I have chosen to refer the techniques to art, novels, poems, music an
Title Contents Synopsis 3 Essay 4 Source Evaluation 15 Pulp Fiction Analysis: 15 Fight Club Analysis: 16 French Lieutenants Woman Analysis: 17 History Extension Project Proposal 19 Enquiry Questions: 20 Preliminary Research: 20 Research Intentions: 21 Bibliography 24 Internet Sites: 24 Films: 25 Novels and Poems: 26 Video Games: 26 Synopsis There is a dynamic relationship between postmodernism's development through societal events and its affect on art and text. I intend to examine the techniques postmodernists use to compose postmodern works as well as the history behind these techniques. It is the feature of postmodernism and examples of texts or artistic pieces that encompass these techniques that is the basis of my essay. I have chosen to refer the techniques to art, novels, poems, music and films. I have chosen to focus most heavily on films as film has existed mainly in the postmodern era unlike the others. I also feel film is currently the most widely experienced form of textual expression as well as the most obvious way to express postmodern techniques. Film also contains within it the story of novels and music thus adding to its ability to express postmodernisms affect on text and art. The essay will outline the key techniques used by postmodernism to shape art and text as well as the history behind these techniques and their effect on society in
‘Wellington’s Waterloo’.
'WELLINGTON'S WATERLOO' The French Revolution played a significant role in the history of Britain. The ideal of intellectual enlightenment and the idea of an end of a corrupt and antiquated government and monarchist rule, swept across Europe from the summer of 1789. This followed the highly symbolic storming of the Bastille, and the Declaration of the Rights of man. However, when the Revolution degenerated into 'The terror' of Robespierre's government by fear and terrorism, intellectual joy turned into conservatism, and a feeling of betrayal. Politically, the social consequences were profound. As Britain staggered under the shock of Industrial Revolution, Urbanisation and the creation of a working class, the authoritarian response to the French Revolution, was a series of repressive acts of parliament and social measures, like the suspending of the writ of habeas corpus. Just as the new society cried out for help, Reform was effectively quashed for thirty years. The French Revolution also gave rise from Corsican outcast to Emperor, of Napoleon Bonaparte. This man perhaps affected Britain the most, and much as been written about this legendary figure and his wars of aggression. The object of this essay is, however, to tell the story of Bonaparte's final fall, in terms of military history and one engagement, which saw Bonaparte meet an equally illustrious figure, his
