Killing Neighbors

Killing Neighbors is a fine contribution to the literature on the Rwandan genocide and offers a different kind of explanation for what occurred that accommodates the differentiation in actions among Hutu at the local level. This micro-sociological approach is welcome as community level understandings of the political can be quite different from centralized narratives. It is difficult to imagine a situation in which it is more important to capture both perspectives than the Rwandan genocide.

-- Sandra Joireman * Nations and Nationalism *

Perhaps paradoxically, by heightening readers' awareness of the manifold individual actions, the author's methodological discarding of a received category—that of the 'mass'—leads to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions that led to 'mass' killings. The book offers a thoughtful—if, for some, provocative—analysis. It also reminds us that other links remain to be investigated if we are to make sense of the imbricated webs of nationwide violence.

-- Danielle de Lame * African Studies Review *

This is an excellent book. It uses oral and written sources very well, is beautifully written and clearly argued, and is truly a pleasure to read (notwithstanding its grim subject). It intelligently describes and tries to explain the ambiguity of the genocide, a process that seems so clear (and evil) and yet, upon closer inspection, becomes far more blurry.... Killing Neighbors poses tough questions and contains far-reaching implications for thinking about genocide and civil violence more generally.

-- Peter Uvin * Perspectives on Politi