Journal of Global Peace and Conflict

Why Waning Wars Wax; a Relook at the Failure of Arusha Peace Accord, the Peace Agreement-Implementation Gap and the Onset of the Rwandan Genocide.
Edwin Wuadom Warden

Abstract
The signing of peace agreement does not always end conflicts. Rather, dying conflicts have resurrected after the failure of peace implementation. This article introduces the concept of Peace Agreement-Implementation Gap (PAIG) as an explanation to why waning wars wax after peace agreement. The Arusha Peace Accord (APA) and the infamous Rwandan Genocide is revisited to examine the role of spoilers and incentive incompatibility in the failure of peace agreement. The article argues that the negotiation of the APA was flawed by the exclusion of key stakeholders who later became substantively organised spoilers, thus, undermining the peace agreement. Additionally, with a lack of potential benefit, there was minimal international commitment to the implementation of the APA. Ultimately, the reluctance of strong powers to commit troops in a difficult field coupled with the internal wrangling of local spoilers hindered the successful implementation of the APA, which in turn led to the genocide.

Full Text: PDF     DOI: 10.15640/jgpc.v4n1a2