The Role of the East African Community in Resolving the Ethnic Divisions in Burundi, 1993-2021

Abstract

This paper analyses the prevailing literature regarding the East African Community's (EAC) involvement in resolving the ethnic division in Burundi, which started with a civil war that lasted from 1993 to 2005. Later, an outbreak of violence occurred in 2015 after Pierre Nkurunziza decided to run for a third term. While existing literature acknowledges the EAC's involvement in addressing the Burundi civil war and ethnic tensions, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis regarding the effectiveness and limitations of its intervention strategies. Certainly, this became a major scholarly gap, which the current paper will contribute to the body of knowledge by critically reflecting on the role played by the EAC in bringing a permanent resolution to the violent conflict in Burundi. The theory employed for this study is Afrocentricity. The results of the civil war were long-standing ethnic divisions between the Tutsis and the Hutus. Furthermore, the discussion is advanced through the inclusion of the various challenges that were faced by the EAC in conflict resolution attempts in Burundi after 2015. Beyond this, the paper argued that the EAC has played a role in trying to bring about a peaceful solution in Burundi, although it has faced various socio-economic and political challenges that have hindered it from ending conflict or restoring harmony in Burundi. Methodologically, the current paper is informed by secondary data materials, supplemented by a content analysis of the collected information on the subject matter.