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Research paper
The counterinsurgency/conservation nexus: guerrilla livelihoods and the dynamics of conflict and violence in the Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The growing militarisation of nature conservation has refocused attention on the relations between counterinsurgency and conservation. This contribution analyses how these two phenomena entwine in the Virunga National Park, located in the war-ridden east of the Democratic Republic of the…
Working paper
Hosting New Neighbors : Perspectives of Host Communities on Social Cohesion in Eastern DRC
Situations of forced displacement create unique challenges for social cohesion because of the major disruption of social dynamics among both displaced persons and host communities. This paper uses a sequential mixed method approach to analyze the relationship between hosting displaced…
Research paper
Multi-layered Security Governance as a Quick Fix? The challenges of donor-supported, bottom-up security provision in Ituri (DR Congo)
This paper investigates ‘multi-layered’ security governance arrangements developed in the restive Ituri province in north-eastern DR Congo, where different forms of insecurity affect people’s lives on a daily basis. It looks more specifically into ‘multilayered’ security governance in Ituri’s capital…
Thesis
Finding peace amongst restless and unatoned bones: a dialogue on Bumúntú from the Democratic Republic of Congo
This thesis invites the reader on a journey to Kamina, the capital of the Haut-Lomami province, DRC, to engage in a dialogue on humanness, violence and peace from another angle. Using the concept of Búmùntù (authentic Personhood) from the Luba…
Research paper
Reintegrating former fighters in the Congo: ambitious objectives, limited results
Current scholarly works in International Relations grew increasingly preoccupied over the effectiveness and programmatic failure of international assistance, especially with regard to issues pertaining to the ‘security–development’ nexus and the post-9/11 ‘securitization’ agenda. Complex Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programmes…
Briefing
Implementing DDR in settings of ongoing conflict: the organization and fragmentation of armed groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
This Practice Note draws lessons from the multi-party context of the DRC and from the experiences of former members of three armed groups.
Research paper
Military business and the business of the military in the Kivus
Contrary to dominant approaches that locate the causes for military entrepreneurialism in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo predominantly in criminal military elites, this article highlights the importance of the Congolese military’s (FARDC) civilian context for understanding military revenue-generation. It…
Research paper
Sons of Which Soil? The Language and Politics of Autochthony in Eastern D.R. Congo
The recent wars in the DR Congo have led to a marked upsurge in both elite and popular discourse and violence around belonging and exclusion, expressed through the vernacular of “autochthony.” Dangerously flexible in its politics, nervous and paranoid in…
Briefing
Returning to Society: Insights from a Survey on the Return and Reintegration of Former Combatants in South Kivu
This Congo Research Brief contributes to a better understanding of sponteneous return processes of ex-combtants. Its conclusions are based on a survey on the return of former combatants which was carried out in the province of South Kivu. The survey…
Thesis
He who touches the weapon becomes other: a study of participation in armed groups in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
This dissertation is a study of the dynamics of armed mobilization and participation in non-state armed organizations in the province of South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It asks one of the fundamental questions of the study of…
Briefing
The view from Gulu on Uganda’s food distribution and corona-politics
When presidential, parliamentary and local elections were slated for early 2021, the politicisation of COVID-19 food distribution was being widely discussed. In Gulu, the effects of the pandemic were felt sharply amongst those reliant on food relief. The central government’s…
Briefing
Food distribution and corona-politics in Uganda: the view from Kampala
Ahead of presidential, parliamentary and local elections planned for 2021, urban food relief distribution in Uganda became politicised as people struggled under COVID-19 lockdown measures. As narratives of ‘liberation’ resurfaced amid the government’s health response, the securitisation of corona-politics further…
Research paper
Policing men: militarised masculinity, youth livelihoods, and security in conflict-affected northern Uganda
Relations between militaries and masculinities—and hegemonic masculinity and the state—are well-established in the literature on gender and development. However, there is less research on how militarised masculinities relate to state governance strategies. This paper, based on qualitative research conducted in…
Research paper
Struggling over land in post-conflict Uganda
Land dispossession and conflicts over land compound resettlement efforts in post-conflict contexts. This is particularly true in rural sub-Saharan African countries, where the vast majority of livelihoods depend on maintaining access and rights to cultivable land. This article engages in…
Research paper
The role of social networks in savings groups: insights from village savings and loan associations in Luwero, Uganda
Studies of village savings and loan association (VSLAs) programmes in several African countries portray these initiatives as spaces that increase financial access for the poor, improve livelihoods, and provide members with social capital. Little is known, however, about their impact…
Research paper
Re-conceptualizing sustainable urban sanitation in Uganda: why the roots of ‘Slumification’ must be dealt with
Country-wide urbanization in Uganda has continued amidst institutional challenges. Previous water and sanitation interventions have not addressed underlying issues of poorly managed urbanization, which is linked to low productivity, urban poverty, unemployment, limited capacity to plan and offer basic services.…
Research paper
Friendship, kinship and social risk management strategies among pastoralists in Karamoja, Uganda
This paper describes risk-pooling friendships and other social networks among pastoralists in Karamoja, Uganda. Social networks are of critical importance for risk management in an environment marked by volatility and uncertainty. Risk management or risk pooling mainly takes the form of…
Research paper
“There are many fevers”: Communities’ perception and management of Febrile illness and its relationship with human animal interactions in South-Western Uganda
Diagnosing the causative agent of febrile illness in resource-limited countries is a challenge in part due to lack of adequate diagnostic infrastructure to confirm cause of infection. Most febrile illnesses (>60%) are non-malarial, with a significant proportion being zoonotic and…
Research paper
Behind the scenes: International NGOs’ influence on reproductive health policy in Malawi and South Sudan
Global health donors increasingly embrace international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) as partners, often relying on them to conduct political advocacy in recipient countries, especially in controversial policy domains like reproductive health. Although INGOs are the primary recipients of donor funding, they…
Research paper
Men’s perceptions of women’s reproductive health in South Sudan
This paper draws on a qualitative study (n = 52) and applies a political ecology of health framework to examine men’s perceptions of women’s reproductive health in South Sudan. The findings suggest that political practices of place making configure men’s views of…
Research paper
“There are many fevers”: Communities’ perception and management of Febrile illness and its relationship with human animal interactions in South-Western Uganda
We conducted a focused ethnographic study in Western Uganda among communities with high human livestock interaction to describe communities’ behaviors, exposures, and attitudes toward fever. Perceptions of illness and associated risk factors were heavily influenced by predominant livelihood activities. As…
Research paper
Negotiating Intersecting Precarities: COVID-19, Pandemic Preparedness and Response in Africa
This article shares findings on COVID-19 in Africa across 2020 to examine concepts and practices of epidemic preparedness and response. Amidst uncertainties about the trajectory of COVID-19, the stages of emergency response emerge in practice as interconnected. We illustrate how…
Research paper
Epidemics and the Military: Responding to COVID-19 in Uganda
The UN Security Council’s response to Ebola in 2014 legitimised militarised responses. It also influenced responses to COVID-19 in some African countries. Yet, little is known about the day-to-day impacts for ordinary citizens of mobilising armies for epidemic control. Drawing…
Research paper
Prevention of COVID-19 in Internally Displaced Persons Camps in War-Torn North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Mixed-Methods Study
Congolese internally displaced persons (IDPs) had high awareness and fear of COVID-19, but low specific knowledge. IDPs face major barriers to implementing COVID-19 prevention measures: crowded shelters, frequent movements in and out of the camp for work, and lack of…
Research paper
Covid-19 and research in conflict-affected contexts: distanced methods and the digitalisation of suffering
This research note explores the pressing ethical challenges associated with increased online platforming of sensitive research on conflict-affected settings since the onset of Covid-19. We argue that moving research online and the ‘digitalisation of suffering’ risks reducing complexity of social…
Research paper
Institutional trust and misinformation in the response to the 2018–19 Ebola outbreak in North Kivu, DR Congo: a population-based survey
The current outbreak of Ebola in eastern DR Congo, beginning in 2018, emerged in a complex and violent political and security environment. Community-level prevention and outbreak control measures appear to be dependent on public trust in relevant authorities and information,…
Research paper
“Are You Sure It’s Not the Corona Vaccine?” An Ebola Vaccine Trial During COVID-19 in DRC
The COVID-19 pandemic began as an Ebola epidemic was unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this article, we examine how COVID-19 influenced experiences of an Ebola vaccine trial and attitudes towards medical research in Goma. First, critical…
Research paper
Social resistance drives persistent transmission of Ebola virus disease in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo: A mixed-methods study
The second largest Ebola (EVD) epidemic in history is currently raging in Eastern DRC. Stubbornly persistent EVD transmission has been associated with social resistance, ranging from passive non-compliance to overt acts of aggression toward EVD reponse teams. We explored community…
Blog
What explains popular resistance to Ebola humanitarian responses in the DRC?
The humanitarian response to the DRC’s Ebola health emergency between 2018-20 was met with popular resistance by local populations, drawing attention to the perceived failures of humanitarian responses in the country over decades. To declare Ebola a health disaster was…
Research paper
Health services for women, children and adolescents in conflict affected settings: experience from North and South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo
The humanitarian response to the DRC’s Ebola health emergency between 2018-20 was met with popular resistance by local populations, drawing attention to the perceived failures of humanitarian responses in the country over decades. To declare Ebola a health disaster was…
Research paper
‘Instead of Begging, I Farm to Feed My Children’: Urban Agriculture – An Alternative to Copper and Cobalt in Lubumbashi
The collapse of a large mining company in the 1990s forced many unemployed workers in Lubumbashi, DRC to look at alternative means of survival. The post-mine era was characterized by acute economic crisis at a time of rapid population growth…
Research paper
Stigmatisation and rejection of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo
Studies report that between 6 per cent and 29 per cent of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are rejected by their families and communities. This research project was designed to provide insights into…
Research paper
Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Among Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: Post-Conflict Scenario
The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has triggered sexual and gender-based violence, including rape, sexual slavery, trafficking, intimate partner violence, and sexual exploitation. Gender inequalities and abuse of power experienced by women and young girls…
Research paper
Challenges of controlling sleeping sickness in areas of violent conflict: experience in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is a fatal neglected tropical disease if left untreated. HAT primarily affects people living in rural sub-Saharan Africa, often in regions afflicted by violent conflict. Screening and treatment of HAT is complex and…
Briefing
‘It’s not all about the land’: Land disputes and conflict in the eastern Congo
This briefing makes several key points: Current interventions in land conflicts are focused on conflict management rather than conflict resolution. Land conflicts are part of a wider governance problem and need political rather than technical approaches. Conflicts over land are…
Briefing
Youth Groups and Urban Policing in the Eastern Congo
Across cities in eastern Congo, youth groups are involved in urban policing, operating between state and non-state actors and formal and informal governance. While some are responsible for improving security in their neighbourhoods, others contribute to its deterioration. This briefing…
