Peace, Propaganda, and Natural Resources: The Geoeconomics of Rwandan Peacekeeping in Mozambique and Implications for European and African Regionalism Projects

Abstract

Since the end of the genocide in Rwanda, the small nation has solidified its reputation as an economic powerhouse among African countries, as well as the continent’s largest peacekeeping force. Some foreign governments have explicitly called on Rwanda for peacekeeping and military interventions before calling on larger regional organizations (namely, the Southern African Development Community). At the same time, other entities and analysts have questioned the legitimacy of Rwanda’s missions as well as the country’s ability to finance such missions, claiming the funds secretly arrive from France to protect French interests in Africa.

This essay focuses on Rwanda’s peacekeeping missions in resource-rich areas of Mozambique, positing that, besides any geo-economic interest that may derive from Rwanda’s presence in such areas, the unilateral nature of Rwandan peacekeeping may represent a threat to African regionalism projects. Furthermore, French funding to Rwanda would imply a lack of alignment between the EU and its member states on dealings with foreign governments and security forces. The essay concludes with a series of proposals for the EU and AU, including ensuring greater alignment with its member states on external affairs and facilitating locally led peacebuilding and reconciliation platforms to root ownership of natural resources within the local population of northern Mozambique.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

The author reports there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kaitlyn Rabe

Kaitlyn Rabe, General Manager and Vice President of Mondo Internazionale APS, was born in Ohio, where she completed her Bachelor of Arts (Summa Cum Laude with Research Distinction) in International Studies and Italian at The Ohio State University. During her undergraduate career, she wrote a thesis on Italian fascist subversion in the Maghreb, for which she won "Honorable Mention" at the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum and was published in the university Undergraduate Research Journal, JUROS.

Having studied both Italian and French during her Bachelor’s degree, she decided to continue her studies in Europe, where she completed an MSc with Honors in International Relations at the University of Milan. Here, she wrote a thesis on the governmental structure of the United Republic of Tanzania and the resulting discrepancies in human development throughout the country; while visiting Tanzania, she discovered an affinity for the themes of food security, food sovereignty, and human development.

In her current role at Mondo Internazionale, she has participated in the 2021 World Food Forum and the 2022 "IFAD: Bridging the Gap between Research and Policy" conference. Besides her role in Mondo Internazionale, she is also an Economic and Political Consultant for MInter Group Ltd. and an English teacher. E-mail: [email protected]