| Summary: | The conflicts which have marked the political, economic, and social history of Burundi and Rwanda over the last decades are usually classified as «ethnic», due to the fact that violence develops generally between Hutu and Tutsi, i.e. social groups considered as «ethnic». In fact, the division between these two groups constitutes today the main structuring force of the social formations in both countries where ethnic social identities are highly salient and appear to superimpose themselves on the other existing social identities, particularly in moments of (political, economic, and other) crisis. This dimension in all social fields, but appear in the analysis as the most visible aspect of a multiplicity of factors which are at the origin of the conflicts, and which are fundamental for understanding the contemporary societies in Rwanda and Burundi.
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