Papers by Koen Vlassenroot
People are affected by different kinds of insecurity in the Ituri Province in the northeastern re... more People are affected by different kinds of insecurity in the Ituri Province in the northeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This article investigates donor-driven attempts to improve security governance there. More specifically, it investigates bottom-up approaches to security governance in Ituri's capital of Bunia and in Irumu territory. Whereas in Bunia people are faced with high levels of violent crime, Irumu is the site of a violent conflict between the Ituri Patriotic Resistance Force (FRPI), an armed group connected to the Ngiti community, and the Congolese army. Involving local non-state security actors in security governance is perceived by international and national actors as a pragmatic way to improve security conditions. However, we show that these bottom-up security governance initiatives have not succeeded in resolving the issues that generate insecurity. We argue that this is because the drivers of insecurity in northeastern Congo are translocal and too complex for localised bottom-up approaches to significantly change the status quo.
This contribution analyses the role of taxation in the constitution of authority in the conflict-... more This contribution analyses the role of taxation in the constitution of authority in the conflict-ridden eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a multitude of authorities alternately compete and collude over the right to extract resources. Taxation ranges from simple plunder, to protection rackets, to the material reciprocation of the recognition of rights. Focusing on the taxation practices of armed groups, the article argues that taxation is at the core of armed groups' production of public authority and citizenship, and that their modes of taxation are based on long-standing registers of authority and practices of rule that originate in the colonial era. In particular, the article shows that by appealing to both local customary and national forms of political community and citizenship, armed groups are able to assume public authority to tax civilians. However, their public authority may be undermined by their tendency to reproduce a historical pattern in which authorities forcefully impose a heavy tax burden, while providing limited public goods and services in return.
For more than 20 years, Kalehe and Walikale, two territories connecting the provinces of North an... more For more than 20 years, Kalehe and Walikale, two territories connecting the provinces of North and South Kivu, have been characterized by a proliferation of armed groups. The first of these groups emerged during the Masisi war in North Kivu, which pitched autochthonous1 and migrant communities against each other and affected ethnic cohabitation in Kalehe and Walikale. During the Congolese wars, these armed groups evolved into one of the leading Mai-Mai groups, which occupied vast parts of both territories and installed its own structures of dominance. The start of the peace process in 2003 did not put an end to the local process of militarization. While in Walikale part of the former Mai-Mai movement transformed into the Mai-Mai Kifuafua, the successful campaigns of the Raia Mutomboki against the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda (FDLR, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) in Shabunda eventually also spread to Kalehe and Walikale. Although the FDLR has been largely ousted from both territories, the Raia Mutomboki continues to be a key player in the local political and military landscape and has become deeply involved in different domains of public life, including the provision of protection, conflict resolution and taxation.
This report analyses the involvement of these armed groups in public life in the territories of Kalehe and Walikale, which is the outcome of the intersection of a number of local historical processes with larger national and regional dynamics. The current political and military landscape in these territories, defined by the presence of armed groups and the consequent fragmentation of local authority, is mainly caused by unresolved tensions between and within communities over territory, authority and resources; the lack of capacity of the Congo’s state services to provide protection; and the limited success of reintegration efforts. The report explores how these armed groups are embedded inlocal communities, how they are connected to local power struggles and how they are involved in the exercise of local authority, including in the fields of security, dispute resolution and revenue generation. Armed groups are able to mobilize popular support by evoking two issues of existential importance to local communities—marginalization and security. While the former revolves around the historical marginalization of local communities in politics and governance, the latter frames local communities as in need of protection. These issues give meaning to armed groups’ bids for local authority and legitimize their engagement in a wide range of governmental practices normally ascribed to the state, such as taxation and the provision of justice and security.
Armed groups have evolved into dominant power brokers, which are deeply involved with ruling territory, people and resources. They have become part and parcel of local and sometimes national power dynamics, have colluded with local and national political and customary leaders, and have developed different techniques and strategies to impose or sustain their authority. The end result is further militarization and fragmentation of public space and social interactions.
In order to reverse this dynamic and promote a demilitarization of public life in Walikale and Kalehe, it is first essential to address the civilian support networks of armed groups. It is then equally important to deal with more structural causes of militarization, including the conduct of the security forces, and to promote more transparent and accountable state institutions. Two other issues that are interconnected and require specific attention are the return of refugee populations and disputes over landownership. These cannot be resolved without a genuine national land reform process, which requires the mobilization of the necessary political will and technical capacity.
This paper argues that even though EU policies in the DRC integrated different components of huma... more This paper argues that even though EU policies in the DRC integrated different components of human security -namely human rights protection, the restoration of law and order, and effective multilateralism -in practice these policies have had mixed success in realizing the objective of human security. This can be explained by three main reasons: (i) EU policies are based on a number of premises about how peace and human security can best be achieved, but these premises are overly simplistic, and in most cases tend to overlook or are disconnected from complexities on the ground; (ii) since the end of the transition in 2006, the EU saw its influence as dominant diplomatic and conflict management actor gradually weakening, and has focused on its role as a development actor, with a specific focus on the implementation of technical projects rather than on the development of a strategic policy on the DRC; and (iii) there is a general lack of political will from Congolese state authorities to engage with donor strategies and to support initiatives that promote a genuine national reform.
From the Ground Up: Land Rights, Conflict …, Jan 1, 2005
The protracted crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that lasted from 1996 till 2003 agg... more The protracted crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that lasted from 1996 till 2003 aggravated processes of land alienation and reduced market access. Field research conducted in 2005 in three eastern DRC areas shows that these processes made rural households increasingly vulnerable and deepened structural causes of food insecurity. Households adapt their livelihood strategies because of the need to deal with the impact of different adversities and to anticipate various risks threatening their livelihoods. This further erodes the resilience of poorly endowed households and forces them to forsake food security in the long run to avoid acute destitution. Yet, standard food relief interventions often solely focus on direct food availability and fail to address the underlying structural causes for food insecurity such as limited access to land and markets. We recommend a combination of interventions that address both in order to lift rural households in protracted crisis situa...
Analysis of rural households' livelihoods in the Democratic Republic of Congo reveals that th... more Analysis of rural households' livelihoods in the Democratic Republic of Congo reveals that the protracted conflict and institutional changes created a highly fragile context constraining livelihood strategies and introducing additional uncertainties. Increased land tenure insecurity and altered 'rules of the game' of the market exacerbated structural causes for food insecurity and households' risk exposure. While adapting to this fragile environment, avoiding risks and dealing with adverse shocks forced poorly-endowed households to forsake food security in the long run to avoid destitution. Food security interventions tend to neglect these implications and implement standard relief interventions failing to lift households out of a food insecurity trap.
What are the links between natural resources and violent conflict? How do formal, informal, and '... more What are the links between natural resources and violent conflict? How do formal, informal, and 'hybrid' governance arrangements shape those links? What is the impact on the position of conflict-affected populations of these arrangements? This paper conducts a systematic review of the evidence base of peer-reviewed and 'grey' literature on resource governance in conflict-affected areas. It finds limited consensus on how to approach and conceptualise resource-related issues in conflict-affected areas. Many of the existing theories rely on normative assumptions and lack empirical support. Three areas are highlighted as demanding further research: hybrid resource governance, rebel resource governance, and the position and strategies of conflict-affected populations.
This paper examines the impact of the presence of international humanitarian organisations on loc... more This paper examines the impact of the presence of international humanitarian organisations on local urban transformation processes in the city of Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Rather than evaluating the direct effects of humanitarian interventions and strategies, it focuses on the indirect but profound effects of the presence of this 'humanitarian sector'. It argues that the international humanitarian presence became a significant factor in the recent shaping and reshaping of the city's profile and has reinforced competition over the urban political and socioeconomic space. The paper evaluates the direct and indirect impact of the international humanitarian presence on the local urban economy and the larger political economy of war in eastern DRC. It analyses how this presence has reinforced processes of spatial reconfiguration, how it has influenced urban planning, and how it has affected dynamics of gentrification and marginalisa-tion on the urban spatial level.
2 nummer 76 -april 2013 -www.mo.be/papers [ Wat weten we (niet) over het geweld in Oost-Congo? ] ... more 2 nummer 76 -april 2013 -www.mo.be/papers [ Wat weten we (niet) over het geweld in Oost-Congo? ] MO*papers is een serie analyses die uitgegeven wordt door Wereldmediahuis vzw. Elke paper brengt fundamentele informatie over een tendens die de globaliserende wereld bepaalt. MO*papers worden toegankelijk en diepgaand uitgewerkt.
War in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increasingly been explained as a means to get access ... more War in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increasingly been explained as a means to get access to natural resources and as a strategy to get control over informal trading networks linking the DRC with global markets. In most of these accounts, the complexity of war economies is underestimated. One element that is often missing is that systems of economic exploitation, which have been developed by armed groups during the Congolese war, tend to persist in the post-conflict context and seem to be hardly affected by the peace process. Based on an evaluation of the case of the Congolese National Army's (FARDC) non-integrated 85th Brigade, a former Mayi-Mayi militia now operating under the banner of the FARDC and deeply involved in the exploitation of cassiterite in Walikale (North Kivu), this paper illustrates how mechanisms of exploitation that have been instituted during the war can largely survive in peacetime conditions. In purely economic terms, this case would suggest a departure from patterns of profit accumulation in war conditions towards profiteering under the seeming order of the DRC's reestablished state institutions. The same case also suggests though that in the present situation of no-war-no-peace, a negotiated, mutual accommodation of economic and political interests linked with security provision can be found. This accommodation explains the ''success'' of this exploitation structure yet at the same time disincentivizes the national government to undertake serious attempts to dislodge this brigade from the Walikale territory. Eventually, these pockets of parallel economic and political control, which are still being observed in many parts of eastern DRC, undermine the DRC's reconstruction process, as it prevents the expansion of a formalized peace economy. The first part of this paper analyses the role of natural resources in North Kivu's economy. The second part describes the structure and functioning of artisanal mining in the Walikale territory. The third part explores Walikale's ''war economy'' and the role played by the 85th Brigade of the FARDC. The final parts aim at illustrating local processes of negotiating peace in return for extortion.
This paper challenges traditional studies that explore border sites from a central or capital cit... more This paper challenges traditional studies that explore border sites from a central or capital city perspective. Focusing on expressions of identity in the border city of Goma, it illustrates how the struggle for political, social and economic control affects local urban life and has broader implications for regional relationships and realities. The paper suggests that Goma must be understood as a site of change and fluidity rather than (as borders are commonly depicted) a static and dependent environment, whose increasing sense of autonomy is directly linked to state decline and to the dynamics of regional conflict. Goma has become an area of military rebellion, political struggle and economic competition, as well as a city of flourishing transborder trade and economic opportunity. The paper highlights the need to follow closely the increasing national and regional role that Goma, and other emerging urban centres on the periphery, are playing. This analysis was concluded early 2012 and does not include recent developments related to the M23 rebellion.
The closely intertwined notions of territory, identity, and authority are at the heart of conflic... more The closely intertwined notions of territory, identity, and authority are at the heart of conflict dynamics in the eastern DR Congo. Focusing on the territorial aspirations of the Banyamulenge community in South Kivu, this article looks at the ways in which the nexus of territory, identity, and authority shapes and is shaped by armed mobilisation. Excluded from a customary chiefdom in the colonial era, the Banyamulenge, a community framed as 'migrants', have been striving for a territory of their own for decades. These aspirations have fed into armed activity by both Banyamulenge and Mai-Mai groups linked to opposing communities, providing deeply resonating mobilising narratives that are employed to justify violent action. Yet, as this article demonstrates, the links between armed mobilisation and the nexus of territory, identity, and authority are both contingent and reciprocal, as violent conflict also impacts the meanings and boundaries of identities, authority structures and territory.
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Papers by Koen Vlassenroot
This report analyses the involvement of these armed groups in public life in the territories of Kalehe and Walikale, which is the outcome of the intersection of a number of local historical processes with larger national and regional dynamics. The current political and military landscape in these territories, defined by the presence of armed groups and the consequent fragmentation of local authority, is mainly caused by unresolved tensions between and within communities over territory, authority and resources; the lack of capacity of the Congo’s state services to provide protection; and the limited success of reintegration efforts. The report explores how these armed groups are embedded inlocal communities, how they are connected to local power struggles and how they are involved in the exercise of local authority, including in the fields of security, dispute resolution and revenue generation. Armed groups are able to mobilize popular support by evoking two issues of existential importance to local communities—marginalization and security. While the former revolves around the historical marginalization of local communities in politics and governance, the latter frames local communities as in need of protection. These issues give meaning to armed groups’ bids for local authority and legitimize their engagement in a wide range of governmental practices normally ascribed to the state, such as taxation and the provision of justice and security.
Armed groups have evolved into dominant power brokers, which are deeply involved with ruling territory, people and resources. They have become part and parcel of local and sometimes national power dynamics, have colluded with local and national political and customary leaders, and have developed different techniques and strategies to impose or sustain their authority. The end result is further militarization and fragmentation of public space and social interactions.
In order to reverse this dynamic and promote a demilitarization of public life in Walikale and Kalehe, it is first essential to address the civilian support networks of armed groups. It is then equally important to deal with more structural causes of militarization, including the conduct of the security forces, and to promote more transparent and accountable state institutions. Two other issues that are interconnected and require specific attention are the return of refugee populations and disputes over landownership. These cannot be resolved without a genuine national land reform process, which requires the mobilization of the necessary political will and technical capacity.
This report analyses the involvement of these armed groups in public life in the territories of Kalehe and Walikale, which is the outcome of the intersection of a number of local historical processes with larger national and regional dynamics. The current political and military landscape in these territories, defined by the presence of armed groups and the consequent fragmentation of local authority, is mainly caused by unresolved tensions between and within communities over territory, authority and resources; the lack of capacity of the Congo’s state services to provide protection; and the limited success of reintegration efforts. The report explores how these armed groups are embedded inlocal communities, how they are connected to local power struggles and how they are involved in the exercise of local authority, including in the fields of security, dispute resolution and revenue generation. Armed groups are able to mobilize popular support by evoking two issues of existential importance to local communities—marginalization and security. While the former revolves around the historical marginalization of local communities in politics and governance, the latter frames local communities as in need of protection. These issues give meaning to armed groups’ bids for local authority and legitimize their engagement in a wide range of governmental practices normally ascribed to the state, such as taxation and the provision of justice and security.
Armed groups have evolved into dominant power brokers, which are deeply involved with ruling territory, people and resources. They have become part and parcel of local and sometimes national power dynamics, have colluded with local and national political and customary leaders, and have developed different techniques and strategies to impose or sustain their authority. The end result is further militarization and fragmentation of public space and social interactions.
In order to reverse this dynamic and promote a demilitarization of public life in Walikale and Kalehe, it is first essential to address the civilian support networks of armed groups. It is then equally important to deal with more structural causes of militarization, including the conduct of the security forces, and to promote more transparent and accountable state institutions. Two other issues that are interconnected and require specific attention are the return of refugee populations and disputes over landownership. These cannot be resolved without a genuine national land reform process, which requires the mobilization of the necessary political will and technical capacity.