Historical Dictionary of Burundi

The Republic of Burundi, a small, but densely populated country in Sub-Saharan Africa, gained its independence from Belgium in 1962. It is most widely known as being the site of fierce and bloody warfare between its two main ethnic groups: the Hutus and the Tutsis. Years of ethnic warfare have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, and only recently has there been a lessening of the bloodshed. However, with democratically elected leaders replacing military dictators and peace becoming more prevalent than war, the future is looking bright for Burundi. The third edition of the Historical Dictionary of Burundi is an important reference made all the more so by the extreme lack of information available on the country. Informing not only about the present and the recent past, the book presents the country’s early history as well, which serves to reveal the sources of conflict. This is accomplished through a chronology, a list of acronyms and abbreviations, an introductory essay, appendixes, a bibliography, and several hundred cross-referenced dictionary entries on history, politics, economy, society and culture.