Power-Sharing and Memory in Burundi
from Part II - Case Studies
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 March 2026
This chapter investigates the implications of a power-sharing deal for the memory regime, looking at the case study of Burundi. In Burundi, we witness a ‘clash of paradigms’ whereby power-sharing undermines meaningful attempts at transitional justice. The chapter shows that this translates to the realm of memory, producing a coalition of oblivion, and that this results in variegated forms of memory displacement and erasure. The chapter looks at three sites of violence in Burundi to explore the everyday struggles with rectification, the undignified treatment of remains, and threatened memory erasure. It also demonstrates that the memory regime changes alongside and in line with the changing political regime, and shows how an increase in the power of the dominant political party shifted the memory regime towards selective recognition.
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