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An ongoing academic debate examines the implications of 'developmental patrimonialism' for African citizens. Rwanda is a key case study in this debate, with proponents of developmental patrimonialism and 'party capitalism' arguing that companies owned by the ruling party or the military play positive roles in economic development. This debate often focuses on macro-level, elite politics. This paper instead uses a Foucauldian lens to examine the micro-level politics of pyrethrum production in Rwanda, which is managed by a military-owned company. The company utilizes incentive-based governmental strategies, in line with state discourses, in addition to punitive, disciplinary regimes. The paper demonstrates that state agricultural strategies depend on multiple factors, including multi-scale political tensions between the ruling party's desire for control and its discourse of 'entrepreneurship'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Since the end of civil war and genocide in 1994, the Rwandan government has embarked on an ambitious plan to reshape the rural setting. Through a strategy of agrarian modernization, the Rwandan government is reorganizing rural space and production in order to foster economic growth. This article looks at how this spatial and productive reconfiguration contributes to the production of political subjects in post-genocide Rwanda, and how this is constitutive of the political power of government. First, it points to the way in which the state authorities' discursive practices utilize the concept of 'exemplary citizenship' to reinforce policy adherence. Second, it analyses how the reconfiguration of access to productive resources is intertwined with the reinforcement of the state's authority. Hidden behind the discourse of modernization and rationalization, the reorganization of space helps central authorities to gain a greater degree of control over rural settings. Finally, it analyses the way in which the reorganization of rural space contributes to the construction of political subjectivity. Political subjects are defined through adherence to or rejection of the government's rhetoric of economic development and good citizenship as redefining moments of public life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its recent tragic history of genocide and continuing threats to political stability, Rwanda has made significant strides in improving its competitive position compared to its African neighbors and to other countries at an equivalent economic level. The Rwandan business and political leadership have explicitly taken Singapore as a model for rapid economic growth, with the aim of positioning Rwanda as a regional hub for transportation and advanced services. This article, based in part on fieldwork conducted in Rwanda by the lead author,[In 2010, t] analyzes Rwanda's development strategy using the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness framework and evaluates its potential for success in emulating Singapore's development pathway. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]