Rwanda and the question of Commonwealth relevance. Issue 3 (3rd July 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Johnstone, Lyn
• Is Part Of: Commonwealth & comparative politics. Volume 57:Issue 3(2019)
• Page Start: 303
• Page End: 323
• Publication Date: 2019-07-03
• Subjects: Rwanda -- Commonwealth -- relevance -- human rights -- cosmopolitanism; Comparative government -- Periodicals; Institutions politiques comparées -- Périodiques; 320.9171241
• DOI: 10.1080/14662043.2019.1563753
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1466-2043

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Rwanda's accession to the Commonwealth is often cited as a reason for the organisation's continued relevance. And yet, in spite of this positioning as poster child for a more cosmopolitan Commonwealth, there is very little evidence, in the corpus of Commonwealth literature, to show how accession of states such as Rwanda boost the argument for relevance. In 2015, I travelled to Rwanda to gain an understanding of the effect that Commonwealth membership has had on the country and vice versa. Using this evidence, I draw conclusions about the effect that Rwanda and the Commonwealth have had on each other.