The Governing Philosophy,Institutional Building and Policy Choiceof the Rwanda Patriotic Front

The sound economic andgovernance performance inRwanda has attracted wide attention in the international com- munity. A lot of research into its spe- cific policies has been done to look at the reasons behind the success of Rwanda. From the perspective of par- ty politics， its success can be equated with that of the governance model of a party-centered country. Rwanda’s ruling party， the Rwanda Patriotic Front （RPF）， has led the country in achieving strong economic develop- ment by enhancing its power， strong will for development and pragmatic and flexible policy choices. The RPF’s success can shed light for latecomer countries in terms of economic devel- opment and governance.

PRESSURE， MISSION， AND RPF’SSTRONG WILL FOR DEVELOPMENT

The first impetus for the RPF to lead Rwanda in developing its econo- my comes from its strong will， which is not only caused by its survival pres- sure， but also influenced by the sense of mission at its birth.

Firstly， the RPF faced severe chal- lenges when it came to power. The Rwanda genocide in 1994， which lasted nearly 100 days， not only took alarge number of lives， but also caused a serious economic disaster. Rwanda’s GDP plunged by more than 50% that year， with per capita GDP falling from $249 the previous year to $112. The country was in desperate need of an infusion of funds for reconciliation and reconstruction， but it had neither mineral resources nor strategic im- portance and was not on the radar of Western-led international aid. From 1994 to 1996， only $800 million of the $2.2 billion promised by the West was delivered. Even with the subsequent increase in foreign aid， as a result of various efforts， it was often halted or reduced by the West on so-called “hu- man rights” grounds， which prompt- ed Rwanda to resolve to become self- reliant. Another pressure comes from within. The RPF is a political organi- zation composed mainly of Tutsi refu- gees who have been living in neigh- boring countries such as Uganda and Burundi since independence. Before ending the genocide and taking over power in 1994， the RPF had little con- tact with the country’smajority Hutu population.“The majority of the people accepted the new regime not because they truly recognized its jus- tice and legitimacy， but because they hated the previous rule. In the long term， unless there’srapid economicdevelopment and people can live a better life， peace will be most fragile”. The third pressure comes from the threat posed by long-standing Hutu rebel militias in eastern DR Congo. To deal with it， the RPF must invest sig- nificantly in improving its defence ca- pabilities. In the uncertain prospect of Western aid， it is difficult for the RPF to achieve political autonomy and secure its regime unless it achieves sustainable economic development in Rwanda. Under these three pressures， the RPF has developed a strong will to commit itself to the sustainable de- velopment of the national economy.

Secondly， the development will of the RPF came also from its strong sense of mission， which can find its source from three aspects. The first is the sense of national pride and honor existed in the history of the Kingdom of Rwanda. According to its own narrative of history， the kingdom was in expansion in the pre-colonial period when the country was rich and strong， the society was prosperous and peaceful， and the people beamed with a strong sense of pride for their nation. It was all interrupted by the invasion of European colonists and poor domestic governance after inde- pendence. The RPF is thus committed to restoring its past glory. The secondis nationalism in modern Rwanda. It was born during the colonial rule by Belgium and the decolonization strug- gle， with the goal of independence and prosperity for Rwanda， breaking the shackle of Western countries and eliminating the influence of neocolo- nialism. This is the most direct source of the RPF’s sense of mission to revi- talize and develop the national econo- my. The third is the personal ambition of RPF leader Paul Kagame. Kagame experienced a raft of disasters such as ethnic antagonism， refugee crisis， civil war and genocide in Rwanda after its independence， and developed a resolute character and the ambition to pursue national independence and peaceful development. Kagame’s per- sonal ambition is undoubtedly crucial to the RPF sense of mission as a politi- cal party.

With the process of Rwanda’s na- tional reconciliation completed and the new regime established， Kagame launched a national consultation cam- paign in the late 1990s. And in 2000， after consulting experts from China， Singapore and other countries， the Rwanda Vision 2020 was announced， which was committed to building Rwanda into a middle-income coun- try based on a knowledge-based economy. In December 2020， Kagame unveiled once again Rwanda’s Vision 2050， emphasizing that “Vision 2020 was about what we had to do in order to survive and regain our dignity. But Vision 2050 has to be about the future we choose， because we can， and because we deserve it”. The new vision aims to transform Rwanda into an upper-middle-income country by 2035 and a high-income countryby 2050. The two documents have provided guidance for the country to develop at different stages.

INSTITUTIONAL PARTY BUILDING AND THE RPF’S GROWINGSTRENGTH

The second impetus stems from the RPF’s ever-growing strength as a political party， which not only en- sures social stability， but also guaran- tees the policy making and delivery capacity of the Rwandan government. Its strength mainly comes from the institutionalization efforts in the fol- lowing three aspects.

I. Establish and Cement the RPF- Led Political Party System and Po- litical Party Consultation System

First， the RPF took “consensusdemocracy” as the ideological basis of the new Rwanda after the end of the genocide， and quickly established a unity government led by itself and with the participation of the main op- position parties of the former regime including the Republican Democratic Movement， the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party. During the ensuing nine years of transition and subsequent governance， it kept on strengthening its supremacy in the party system and the state power structure. Through the allocation of cabinet posts and parliamentary seats， it gained political dominance in the country. According to the Ba- sic Law framework adopted by the Transitional National Assembly in May 1995， when the government is unable to make a decision， the decision-making power shall be exer- cised by the President as a sovereign representative， and the minority of one-third plus one has the right to veto. Of the 21 cabinet ministers in the transitional government， the RPF held eight， an effective minority with veto power， thus ensuring that the President “makes decisions in a sov- ereign manner” on behalf of the RPF. At the same time， it also controlled a majority of the seats in the Transi- tional National Assembly together with its army and allied parties. The 2003 Constitution， amended after the transition period， inherits the spirit of the Basic Law framework and bul- warked the political position of the RPF. In several post-transition-period elections， the RPF won both the presi- dential and parliamentary elections by a large margin.

Second， the Rwandan government enacted during the transitional peri- od from 1994 to 2003 a series of party bans， prohibiting extremist and eth- nicity， religion and region-based par- ties， in order to strengthen the leader- ship of the RPF and national unity. When Rwanda established the transitional unity government， it banned the former ruling party， the National Revolutionary Movement for Democ- racy and Development， and the Hutu extremist party of the Coalition for the Defence of the Republic， which were directly responsible for the genocide. At the end of the transition period， it banned in 2001 the National Council for Renewal and Democracy which was then in its founding stage and in 2003 the Republican Demo- cratic Movement which was the larg- est opposition party at that time， both on the grounds that they violated the provisions of the Political Party Law prohibiting the formation of new political parties during the transition period， or endangered national se- curity by inciting political parties or ethnic division.

Third， the RPF established the Forum of Political Parties to engage political parties in political consulta- tion. During the transitional period， the RPF established the Forum as an initial framework for political consul- tation in accordance with the Arusha Peace Accords. Rwanda’s 2003 Con- stitution provided for a multi-party system and made the Forum a perma- nent and institutionalized establish- ment. At present， it has 11 members and holds assemblies twice a year for open dialogue and discussion on major issues of national development and governance. At the same time， the Rwandan Constitution also stipu- lates that the purpose of the Forum is to promote consensus-building， politi- cal tolerance and national unity. This in fact further confirms and consoli- dates the leadership of the RPF.

II. Strengthen Party Building in its Organizational System， Ideology and Party Discipline

Rwanda has a RPF of organization and power system at each of its five administrative levels from province， district， county to village. The partystructure of the RPF is parallel to the state administrative structure， with the executive secretary of the party being the core of leadership at all levels and holding decision-making power. The RPF grass root organiza- tions are built all through to， and below，the village level. Party build- ing often takes place in family-style language， encouraging every Rwan- dan to join the RPF family， which in many areas is the majority of the population. The governance model of the integration of the party， the government and the army is a major feature of the RPF party building， with party and government institu- tions at all levels， from the province to the village， appointed military and political commissars to supervise the entire political proceedings.

Since taking power in 1994， the RPF， drawing on experience from history and based on actual na- tional conditions， has built a set of ideological system under which the whole party are rallied together， thus strengthening its cohesion as a ruling party. This ideological sys- tem mainly includes four aspects. The first is the historical view of the Rwandan national community， which holds that the Rwandans were ethnically united before coloniza- tion， with the Hutu， Tutsi and Twa ， not ethnic labels， but differentiated in wealth and social status. The colo- nists then came and caused ethnic politicization which continued after independence. And it was not until the RPF came to power that histori- cal glory and national unity were restored. The second is the concept of national unity， which means that the unified identity of Rwandan na- tionals replaces the differentiated ethnic identity， which is not only a proud historical tradition， but also the practical need for reconstruction. Accordingly， the RPF firmly opposes racism， both politically and legally.The third is the concept of independ- ent nationalism. The RPF believes that genocide has made Rwanda spe- cial and that Rwanda must resolutely follow its own path， safeguard its sov- ereignty， restore its national dignity and reject Western interference and accusations. The fourthis the view of development. The RPF believes that in order to achieve independence and dignity， Rwanda must develop its economy， improve its governance capacity， and achieve national pros- perity as soon as possible.

The RPF commits to improving the governance of the party and gov- ernment through anti-corruption and the traditional performance contract system of Imihigo. First， it exercises zero-tolerance against corruption. On the one hand， it prevents corruption through intra-party education， market reform， institutional improvement， and the participation of the whole people. On the other， it detects and severely punishes corruption by legal and political means. The 2003 Consti- tution obliges politicians， senior RPF officials and financial management officials to declare their assets. At the same time， the national police and investigation departments have been set up to focus on anti-corruption work. Through careful prevention and severe crackdown against cor- ruption， greater integrity is ensured within the party. The second is to transform the goals of governance and economic development into the responsibility of officials within the RPF system through a multi-level Imihigo system， which helps to make the RPF and its government officials more effective at work.

III. Consolidate the RPF’s Social Foundation through Education and Distribution of Responsibility and Power

First， political education is carried out through the “solidarity camp”of Ingando and the “civic educa- tion camp” of Itorero. The Ingando camp program， which began in 1998， teaches topics of economic policy， security， solidarity， reconciliation and health in new official language， in order to dispel the “ethnic identity” left by colonialism and promote a “Rwandan national identity” among all the population. The Itorero camp program， launched in 2007， is at the heart of the government’s efforts to create model citizens. The RPF has specially designed military-style graduation ceremony for the gradu- ates of these two programs， expecting them to become catalysts and drivers of the country’s economic and social transformation.

Second， citizens are included into the party and state system in differ- ent ways and assume corresponding responsibilities. For example， Rwanda people are mobilized to join the RPF， and after joining in， they need to do- nate for national development when called upon; a large number of ad- ministrative and security personnel are recruited from among citizens to take on the work of management and supervision of community policing， education or health， among others. Everyone is obliged to participate in collective community work on the last Saturday of each month to main- tain a clean living environment.

Third， the basic social， economic and political rights of the people are guaranteed. On the one hand， government delegates its power to ensure broad citizen participation in local decision-making process， i.e. to elect local officials and manage lim- ited resources. On the other hand， ba- sic living benefits are provided to vil- lagers， such as a cup of milk to each child every day for their nutrition. Through these measures， the RPF has embedded itself within the fabric of the society， thereby consolidating its originally weak social foundation.

PERCEPTIONS OF KAGAME AND THERPF ON DEVELOPMENT AND THEIRPOLICY CHOICES FOR RWANDA

The understanding of the ruling

RPF on how to reconstruct the coun-try and sustain its economic resultsafter the disaster constitutes the thirdpolitical foundation for Rwanda’s eco-nomic development.

First， its understanding on foreignaid， self-reliance and the relationsbetween the two. Kagame recognizesforeign assistance and support as animportant condition for Rwanda’sdevelopment， yet he knows as wellthat independence is fundamental.As he pointed out in an interviewthat， “we appreciate foreign aid andknowhow to get it by meeting objec-tive criteria， but we refuse to use itfor political control”. With that said，uncompromising independence canonly happen gradually.“It can onlybe achieved through hard work， de-termination and a development plan with clear targets...Our daily effort is all about creating and accumulat- ingbit by bit and eventually moving away from dependence on aid.” It is out of these perceptions that the RPF government has been working on two directions. On the one hand， it strives for more foreign aid， invest- ment and cooperation， by conducting diplomacy work actively relying on its moral advantages brought by its termination of the genocide and the moral guilt of Western countries， and by improving governance at home and building a favorable international image. On the other hand， it works to reduce dependence on foreign aid， in order to maintain and gradually strengthen national autonomy. In its external relations， the RPF is de- termined not to give in to strings at- tached and international pressure that would threaten its ruling status and the political stability of Rwanda.

Second， its understanding on the relationship between free market and state intervention. Kagame believes in the power of free market. In his view， countries with competitive market tend to encourage entrepreneurship and experience long-term economic growth， while countries that suppress market competition tend to have fewer entrepreneurs and therefore slower economic growth. Meanwhile， in the face of the difficult and com- plex situation after the genocide， Kagame also recognized the limits of the free market and the need for state intervention. Therefore， on the one hand， the RPF government strives to maintain the consistency of macro- economic policies with liberalism in global economy by working to create a free and efficient business envi- ronment and encouraging private economy which is seen as a develop- ment engine. On the other hand， it adopts strong state intervention measures. The first is to adopt active interventionism in rural areas and agriculture by introducing the policy of land sharing， gender equality in land inheritance rights， and land registration. Second， the RPF directly controls some basic industries， which enables it to rapidly accumulate a large amount of capital for leading the strategic transformation of the national economy involving people’s livelihood. The economic transforma- tion and sustainable development led by the ruling party’s conglomerates has become a prominent feature of the “Rwandan miracle”.

Third， its understanding on indus- trial policy and policy choice. Kagame said that Africa must look to its own history and culture， in order to find solutions to African problems. In the case of specific countries， it is neces- sary to find solutions to various chal- lenges from the past thoughts and practices of their own society， and to form new ideas to push their wayforward. In terms of industrial policy selection， it is necessary to identify the industry with comparative advantages that is suited to national conditions. It is under the guidance of this concept， the RPF government， on the basis of extensive consultation with domestic and foreign experts， has chosen to transform to knowledge-based econo- my， which is not only fit for its small territory， limited resources and dense population， but also keeps with the global trend of digital transformation.

CONCLUSION

Rwanda is a typical example of a developing country in the 21st cen- tury achieving good governance and economic growth with political party taking a leading role in that process. The reasons why the RPF is able to lead Rwanda in realizing national reconstruction and economic take-off from the ruins of system malfunc- tion， order collapse and suffering can be attributed to the features of party politics under the leadership of the RPF. Its strong will， sense of mis- sion， strength and the right choice of the development path for the coun- try lays the political foundation of Rwanda’s economic development. Its development once again shows that， for the vast number of developing countries in Asia， Africa and Latin America， a political party with a sense of mission and readiness to act can stand up to pressure and challenges and blaze a path of governance and economic development with its own characteristics in the face of adver- sity， provided that it can base itself on its own realities， maintain independ- ence， seize the trend and keep pace with the times.

Wang Xuejun is Pofessor at School of Government， East China University of Political Science and Law