This study is an exploration of several of the
factors that have often been used to understand why
the Rwandan genocide occurred in 1994. While
previous studies have pointed to deep rooted ethnic
rivalries and tribal hatreds, the role of the
Rwandan media, and psychological factors, this study
makes the argument that the collapse of the economy
was the most significant factor that contributed to
the massacre of nearly one million persons over a
hundred day period.

The study concludes that ethnic rivalries set in
place by European colonizers and the role of the
radio, while factors, cannot explain the
enthusiastic fervor in which the genocide was
carried out by many Hutu peasant farmers. Instead,
relying on World Bank data and post-genocide
interviews, this study concludes that the single
most significant factor in explaining why so many
ordinary Hutu citizens passionately engaged in the
murder of their Tutsi neighbors, friends,
acquaintances, and family members was the drastic
economic decline that left so many uneducated,
unemployed, and hopeless.