« At first it is reconciliation with oneself »

This article addresses the question of reconciliation in Rwanda. It sheds new light on thisphenomenon by proposing a shift of perspective for its study. It aims to discover themeaning of reconciliation “from below” by taking an interest in individual actors who engage in what they consider to be reconciliation. The article begins with a review of theexisting academic literature on reconciliation in Rwanda. With the help of this review, weshow that, due to very strong polarization between authors, it tends to be based on rather simplified and binary conceptions of Rwandan social dynamics. By seeing the societyin this way a lot of weight is given to political actors imposing reconciliation, whichmeans that local actors have so far remained invisible. It is in this sense that reconciliation in Rwanda is described as a black box which can be opened by analyzing it throughthe lens of individual actors. Furthermore, we argue that the cyclical movements of exileand return fashion the logics of Rwandan reconciliation, so that it can only be fully understood when considering its extraterritorial dimensions. By focusing on individualmilitants’ reconciliation and their extraverted biographical trajectories, this article explores the meanings with which they invest it using qualitative field study. This microperspective indicates that while they conceive of reconciliation as engagement to transform social relations, they ultimately cast it in reflexive terms. Through their variousforms of engagement, they put an accent upon the necessity of reconciling with oneself.