Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War?

All too often in conflict situations, rape is referred to as a 'weapon of war', a term presented as self-explanatory through its implied storyline of gender and warring. In this provocative but much-needed book, Eriksson Baaz and Stern challenge the dominant understandings of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings. Reading with and against feminist analyses of the interconnections between gender, warring, violence and militarization, the authors address many of the thorny issues inherent in the arrival of sexual violence on the global security agenda. Based on original fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as research material from other conflict zones, Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? challenges the recent prominence given to sexual violence, bravely highlighting various problems with isolating sexual violence from other violence in war. A much-anticipated book by two acknowledged experts in the field, on an issue that has become an increasingly important security, legal and gender topic

The volatility of a half-cooked bouillabaisse. Rebel-military integration and conflict dynamics in eastern DRC

In early 2012, Congolese army deserters formed the M23 rebel movement. This article analyses the insurgency and other armed group activity in the eastern DRC in the light of the politics of rebel-military integration. It argues that military integration processes have fuelled militarization in three main ways. First, by creating incentive structures promoting army desertion and insurgent violence; second, by fuelling inter- and intra-community conflicts; and third, by the further unmaking of an already unmade army. We argue that this is not merely the product of a ‘lack of political will’ on behalf of the DRC government, but must be understood in the light of the intricacies of Big Man politics and Kinshasa’s weak grip over both the fragmented political-military landscape in the east and its own coercive arm. Demonstrating the link between military integration and militarization, the article concludes that these problems arise from the context and implementation of integration, rather than from the principle of military power-sharing itself. It thus highlights the crucial agency of political¬–military entrepreneurs, as shaped by national-level policies, in the production of ‘local violence’

Arbiters with guns: the ambiguity of military involvement in civilian disputes in the DR Congo

Based on extensive field research in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), this article elucidates the logics, processes and readings surrounding certain ‘extra-military’ practices enacted by the Congolese army, namely the processing of various types of disputes between civilians. Exceeding the boundaries of the domain of ‘public security’, such activities are commonly categorised as ‘corruption’. Yet such labelling, founded on a supposed clear-cut public–private divide, obscures the underlying processes and logics, in particular the fact that these practices are located on a blurred public–private spectrum and result from both civilian demand and military imposition. Furthermore, popular readings of military involvement in civilian disputes are highly ambiguous, simultaneously representing it as ‘abnormal’ and ‘harmful’, and normalising it as ‘making sense’ –reflecting the militarised institutional environment and the weakness of civilian authorities in the eastern DR Congo. Strengthening these authorities will be vital for reducing this practice, which has an enkindling effect on the dynamics of conflict and violence

Central Africa report: fighting behind the frontlines: army wives in the eastern DRC

The wives of soldiers of the Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC, Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo) may not be very visible, but they are an integral part of the military. They live with soldiers, and often their children, in and around military camps and deployment sites – including in the most insecure zones. The military, however, defines them as civilians and does not provide them with any benefits packages, nor does it invest much in facilities like health care centres. Together with soldiers’ low and irregular pay, this causes army wives to struggle to make a living

The national army and armed groups in the eastern Congo: untangling the Gordian knot of Insecurity

The final report of the Usalama Project presents the conclusions of 18-month field research on the national army and armed groups in the eastern DRC in three parts: an analysis of armed mobilization, focusing on the region of North and South Kivu; an examination of the FARDC; and a critical review of past and current efforts in the field of demobilization and army reform. Written by Jason Stearns, Judith Verweijen and Maria Eriksson Baaz, the report finds that in the DRC’s current political order, the mobilization of armed groups and hence violence is an effective strategy to obtain power and control resources. Troubled army policies only contribute to armed mobilization. By repeatedly integrating armed groups into the FARDC, the government has not only provided incentives for further insurrection, it has effectively sanctioned impunity. Untangling this Gordian knot will require a comprehensive political and military strategy, aligning local, national, and international initia­tive

Exploring boat operators' perceptions of taxation on the Congo River #PublicAuthority

Maria Eriksson Baaz and Judith Verweijen's research among boat operators on the Congo River has given them a deeper insight into state-society relations in the Central African country

Navigating ‘taxation’ on the Congo River: the interplay of legitimation and ‘officialisation’

Based on comprehensive research among boat operators and navy personnel working on the Congo River (DRC), this article explores how assessments of ‘taxation’ are shaped by the interplay of legitimation and ‘officialisation’. As such, it draws upon and contributes to scholarly debates on taxpayers’ attitudes towards taxation. While boat operators resent having to pay a plethora of authorities, including the navy, along the Congo River, the article demonstrates how they locate these ‘taxes’ on a spectrum from more to less legitimate. These assessments are shaped by various factors: authorities’ legitimacy as ‘measured’ by their official mandate and importance; public and non-official service provision; and the deployment of symbols of ‘stateness’. In interaction, these factors legitimise and ‘officialise’ ‘taxes’ by the navy that are prohibited in legislation. These findings caution against the a priori use of the labels ‘official’ and ‘non-official’, emphasising the need to better grasp these notions’ emic understandings

Who's at Risk? : Reflections on In/Security When Working With/Through Military Brokers in Conflict Settings

In this paper, I reflect upon my experience of working with active military officerscum-research brokers in research on the Congolese (DRC) armed forces. Drawing upon the traditions of autoethnography and Narrative International Relations, I recount the story of an evolving relationship between one particular military broker and myself. It highlights how military research brokers, while frequently cast not only as capable of handling their own security, but as prime sources of insecurity, often share the general (civilian) research broker's predicaments of insecurity. In doing so, the narrative also challenges dominant gendered, as well as racialized, ideas of who is at risk when conducting research in conflict settings