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5 - Becoming Rwandan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2026

Morag Goodwin
Affiliation:
Tilburg University, The Netherlands
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Summary

This chapter explores the processes and form of the imagined national community in Rwanda in light of global discourses of difference, focusing on the space of identity that the state narrative of unity allows for Twa to navigate their subjectivisation as Rwandans. Our data shows that many Twa buy into the government’s narratives of national unity and ‘Rwandan-ness’. They choose to identify themselves as Rwandan and appear willing to forgo Twa identity for the promise of belonging and progress that they understand national narratives of unity to offer. To understand this as forced assimilation – whether through the violence of law or economic circumstances – is too simple a reading: Twa individuals are actively using the ‘Ndi Umunyarwanda’ programme messaging to create spaces of inclusion for themselves within Rwandan society.

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  • Becoming Rwandan
  • Morag Goodwin, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
  • Book: Twa in Rwanda
  • Online publication: 30 June 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009768528.007
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  • Becoming Rwandan
  • Morag Goodwin, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
  • Book: Twa in Rwanda
  • Online publication: 30 June 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009768528.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Becoming Rwandan
  • Morag Goodwin, Tilburg University, The Netherlands
  • Book: Twa in Rwanda
  • Online publication: 30 June 2026
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009768528.007
Available formats
×