A small country occupying a strategic location in the unstable Great Lakes region of Africa, Burundi's own recent convulsions have been intimately entangled with deadly conflicts in the neighbouring countries of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authors outline the origins and nature of the conflict in Burundi, discuss the problems of establishing democracy in a region where ethnic conflict has occasioned genocide, trace the peace process in detail, and assess the prospects for the future. Their work seeks to illuminate the role played by South Africa since 1999 in Burundi's attempted transition to peace and democracy. Bib, 220pp, SOUTH AFRICA. HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL.

Little known in the English-speaking world, Burundi is Rwanda s twin, a small Central African country with a complex history of ethnic tension between its Hutu and Tutsi populations that has itself experienced traumatic events, including mass killings of over 200,000 people. The country remained in a state of simmering civil war until 2004. Julius Nyerere and Nelson Mandela took turns as mediators in a lengthy, and eventually successful, peace process which has endowed Burundi with new institutions, including a new constitution, that led to the election of a majority Hutu government in 2005. But there are many problems still to solve apart from ethnic tensions, above all the entrenched poverty of most Burundians, which has seen it designated by NGOs as one of the most deprived countries on earth. Nigel Watt s book discusses the troubled political fortunes of this beautiful yet disturbed country in the heart of Central Africa. He traces the origins of its political crises, sheds light on Burundi s recent history by means of interviews with leading participants and those whose lives have been affected by horrific events, and helps demystify the country's 'ethnic' divisions. Index, bib, apps, 234pp, UK. HURST.

La crise de 1972, appelée ikiza -le fléau- par les Barundi, est la plus grave vécue par ce pays avant la guerre civile qui l'a déchiré entre 1993 et 2003. Aucune étude approfondie de cette crise majeure n'existait. Les nombreux documents et témoignages livrés par les auteurs sur ce génocide des élites hutu aideront aussi à réfléchir sur le génocide des Tutsi au Rwanda en 1994. Les analyses portent aussi sur la construction des propagandes contradictoires et sur le jeu, souvent ambigu, des puissances étrangères. 496pp, IN FRENCH, FRANCE. KARTHALA.

An analysis of the history and politics of Hutu and Tutsi which has engendered wholesale massacres. The institutional minority/majority conflict has many parallels, does the author provide a glimpse of a solution? CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

1988 CD

Written by the former UN ambassador to Burundi who arrived in 1993 to rescue the country's democracy and bring together political and ethnic rivals. Ould Abdallah describes the challenges he faced from both Burundians and the international community, and the relationships he fostered with local, diplomatic and NGO communities. The author concludes with an unconventional analysis of what works and what doesn't in the practical realm of preventative diplomacy. Preface by Olusegun Obasanjo. Notes, apps, maps, xxv, 169pp, USA. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE FOR PEACE PRESS, 1929223005

2000 Paperback

A study of the Burundi refugees working in Dar-es-Salaam. B/w illus, bib, index, xviii, 219pp, USA. BERGHAHN BOOKS.

In 1994, while nations everywhere stood idly by, 800,000 people were slaughtered in eight weeks in Rwanda. Arriving as U.S. Ambassador to neighbouring Burundi a few weeks later, Bob Krueger and his wife Kathleen began drawing international attention to the genocide also proceeding in Burundi, where he sought to minimize the killing and to preserve its fledgling democratic government from destruction by its own army. Graphically document the slaughter occurring all around them, as well as their repeated efforts to get the U.S. government and the international community to take notice and take action. Index, notes, 308pp, USA. TEXAS U P.

Identifies the continuities of violence in Burundi and shows how violence has been intensified through the introduction of modern concepts of masculinity. It shows how Burundi is linked to the patterns of recurrent genocidal violence in Rwanda, Congo and Uganda. Patricia Daley argues passionately for a revised feminist-historical approach to understanding violence and reforming the processes whereby local and international bodies put together peace agreements. Index, bib, 268pp, UK. JAMES CURREY PUBLISHERS.

Although it has been independent from European administration since 1962, Burundi has gone through several political upheavals. From 1966 to 1990, it existed as a republic under military rule. In 1993, it had its first free presidential election, which placed Melchoir Ndaday in the Presidential seat. His assassination four months later spurred violent uprisings between Burundi's two major ethnic groups, the Hutu and the Tutsi. Ndaday's successor likewise died under suspicious circumstances in 1994, resulting in more civil unrest in Burundi, as well as in Burundi's neighbouring country of Rwanda. Burundi's civilian conflicts have been further strained by pressing social and economic problems, causing the leadership of this troubled country to appeal for help from its UN affiliates. This volume contains entries on the important national figures, political parties and military personnel who have steered this tiny nation through its troubled development, as well as information on Burundi's steadily strengthening economy and educational base. Bib, chronology, 206pp, USA. SCARECROW.

Farmers, artisans, traders, mothers, soldiers and students talk about the past and the future, war and peace, their hopes for a better life and their relationships with each other and the state. Young men, in particular, often seen as the cause of violence and war, talk about the difficulties of living up to standards of masculinity in an impoverished and war-torn society. Weaving a rich tapestry, Peter Uvin pitches the ideas and aspirations of people on the ground against the theory and assumptions often made by the international development and peace-building agencies and organisations. Index, 211pp, UK. ZED BOOKS.

A biographical account of the author's experiences of the violence between Hutu and Tutsi in Burundi during the 1990s, and the murder of 40 young seminarians who refused to acknowledge segregation based on ethnicity. The author reflects on the dialectic between history and memory and the necessity of remembrance and understanding. Text in French. BNS, 248pp, FRANCE. KARTHALA.

Gives an account of meetings held with government authorities, civil society organizations, indigenous communities and other stakeholders, it describes the situation of the indigenous populations in the Republic of Burundi and it makes recommendations to the Burundi govern-ment, civil society organizations and the international community. IN ENGLISH & FRENCH. 81pp, DENMARK. IWGIA.

New in paperback. Autobiography of the Burundi-born runner, whose Tutsi ethnicity nearly cost him his life in a school massacre. 288pp, UK. BLAKE PUBLISHING.

Fourth edition. An indexed foldout road map of Rwanda and Burundi, with very basic insert maps of Kigali and Bujumbura. Scale 1:300 000, CANADA. INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL MAPS.

Recounts the experiences of Deo, a medical student from Burundi who narrowly survived two genocides, first in his own country, then Rwanda. Through sheer fortitude, and the astonishing kindness of strangers, Deo fled to New York. But his ordeal was far from over. He endured daily discrimination in his menial job, and left his first home, a Harlem tenement building, for the greater safety of sleeping rough in Central Park. Again the generosity of those he encountered prevailed. Deo was introduced to a couple who would in time virtually adopt him, and in the coming years he graduated from Colombia, obtained US citizenship and returned to Burundi to pursue his dream of founding a clinic. 288pp, UK. PROFILE BOOKS.

Institute for Security Studies monograph number 125. Notes, 57pp, SOUTH AFRICA. INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES.