Gérard Prunier (born 1942, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) is a French academic, historian, and consultant. He specializes in

African history The history of Africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans and — around 300–250,000 years ago—anatomically modern humans ('' Homo sapiens''), in East Africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of d ...

and affairs —particularly the Horn of Africa and the

African Great Lakes The African Great Lakes ( sw, Maziwa Makuu; rw, Ibiyaga bigari) are a series of lakes constituting the part of the Rift Valley lakes in and around the East African Rift. They include Lake Victoria, the second-largest fresh water lake in th ...

regions.

Biography

Prunier received a PhD in African History in 1981 from the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, spending a year at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

and a stay in Caracas,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. In 1984, he joined the CNRS scientific institution in

as a researcher. He later also became Director of the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies in

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...

. Prunier has published over 120 articles and five books. He is fluent in his native French, as well as

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

. He also has good knowledge of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and German, and a basic knowledge of

Juba Arabic Juba Arabic (, ; ar, عربية جوبا, ‘Arabīyat Jūbā), also known since 2011 as South Sudanese Arabic, is a lingua franca spoken mainly in Equatoria Province in South Sudan, and derives its name from the South Sudanese capital, Juba. ...

(Sudanese colloquial Arabic) and Swahili.

Published works

;Books * ''Les Ethnies ont une histoire'' (ed. with ), Paris : Karthala, 1989, * ''L'Ouganda et la question indienne : 1896-1972'', Paris : Editions Recherche sur les civilisations, 1990 * ''The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide'',

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, 1995, * ''Le Kenya contemporain'', (ed. with François Grignon), Paris : Karthala & Nairobi : IFRA, 1998, * ''Darfur: The Ambiguous Genocide'',

Cornell University Press The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in t ...

, 2005, * ''L'Éthiopie contemporaine'' (director), CFEE-Karthala, Addis Abeba and Paris, 2007, *:with Ficquet, Éloi. ''Understanding contemporary Ethiopia'', L.:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2015 — english edition
''From Genocide to Continental War: The "Congolese" Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa''
C. Hurst & Co., 2009, *:Published in the US as ''Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of Continental Catastrophe'',

, 2009, * ''Urgence Darfour'' with Morad El Hattab (direction),

André Glucksmann André Glucksmann (; 19 June 1937 – 10 November 2015) was a French philosopher, activist and writer. He was a leading figure of the new philosophers. Glucksmann began his career as a Marxist, but went on to reject communism in the popular bo ...

, Bernard Kouchner,

Bernard-Henri Lévy Bernard-Henri Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the " Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political acti ...

, , , Rossin Richard,

Philippe Val Philippe Val (; born 14 September 1952) is a French journalist, singer, and comedian. He was a co-founder of the second iteration of '' Charlie Hebdo'', serving as the satirical political weekly's editor and director. After leaving ''Charlie H ...

, Paris: Des idées & des hommes, 2007 * ''The Country That Does Not Exist: A History of Somaliland'' — New York: Oxford University Press, 2021 ;Articles *
Burundi: A Manageable Crisis?
, WRITENET (UK), October 1994 *
Sudan’s regional war
, '' Le Monde diplomatique'', February 1997 * "Rwanda: the Social, Political and Economic Situation", WRITENET (UK), June 1997 *
Somaliland, a forgotten country
, ''Le Monde diplomatique'', October 1997 *
Uganda, nearly a miracle
, ''Le Monde diplomatique'', February 1998 *
Somalia re-invents itself
, ''Le Monde diplomatique'', April 2000 *
Sudan: irreconcilable differences
''Le Monde diplomatique'', December 2002 * "Did Somebody Say Genocide?: Gérard Prunier on Darfur", '' Harper's Magazine'', August 2006 *
Darfur's Sudan problem
, OpenDemocracy.net, 15 September 2006
The Ethio-Eritrean Conflict: An Essay in Interpretation Armed Movements in Sudan, Chad, CAR, Somalia Eritrea and Ethiopia

From Fatigues to Three-Piece Suits: East African Guerrillas in Power

Why did South Sudan blow up in December 2013 and what is likely to happen as a result?

References

External links

Fergal Keane Fergal Patrick Keane (born 6 January 1961) is an Irish foreign correspondent with BBC News, and an author. For some time, Keane was the BBC's correspondent in South Africa. He is a nephew of the Irish playwright, novelist and essayist John B. ...

Interview of Prunier on the Rwandan Genocide

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

's '' Frontline'' (early 1997)
Gerard Prunier on 'la francophonie' under threat
at ''Just World News'' blog with Helena Cobban, 31 May 2004 *
Articles by Prunier
at

openDemocracy openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

French scholars People of the Rwandan genocide People of the War in Darfur University of Paris alumni Historians of Africa Living people Historians of Kenya 1942 births {{France-academic-bio-stub