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The challenges which lie ahead for post-genocide Rwanda's economic, social and political development are closely related through the issue of land. The pressure from a high rate of population growth, added to the paucity of economic opportunities outside the agricultural sector, is forcing people off the land and into poverty. Society is under extreme stress. Over the last decade the fabric of Rwandan society has been torn, resulting in ethnic and social divisions which culminpted in the events of 1994. Since then, new groups have entered the competition for land. Decisions concerning land and agrarian reform will unavoidably benefit some groups within this fragmented society while disadvantaging others. This article approaches the land problem from two perspectives: first, by situating its socio-economic dimension in a deeper historical context and second, by considering it as a specifically contemporary socio-political problem. The article discusses the latest proposals for land and agrarian reform. While pressure on land has, over time, weakened social bonds, it remains doubtful whether the government has the political strength—in the present unstable national and regional political climate—to carry out the necessary reinforcement of communal bonds which economic development appears to require.
