ABSTRACT
After a historical development, Ruanda society appeared to be composed of two main strata, the Hutu and Tutsi castes. The latter was dominant in social power and used it to exploit economically the former and to retain political power exclusively. The system of the social domination of a caste and of the political domination of a group within that caste seemed to be successful and stable at the beginning of the twentieth century. Before considering the social structural factors which were operative one must take into account the frame in which and the background against which the problem of domination had to be solved. Sociological and psychological studies devoted to racial problems, and particularly to anti-semitism, have stressed the importance of the physical stereotypes of groups. The chapter summarizes the function of the Ruanda political organization as a whole. It considers together the feudal as well as the administrative and military systems.
