Excavating the roots of Congo’s insecurity

Recent scholarship has provided important evidence that we need to move ‘beyond minerals’. But in the rush to distance recent scholarship with earlier work on Congo’s single mineral story, we have stepped a bit too far as we still have much to learn about how different natural resources and violence are linked in the Congo. This blog calls attention to new site(ings) of exploitation, and it is these sites of exploitation that disrupt Congo’s most important economy – the farming economy

Rethinking ‘fieldwork’: ethics and identity in globally unequal structures of research

Racial, gender and material inequalities are increasingly understood to be deeply entangled and reproduced in the process of doing fieldwork. Our new blog series, ‘Rethinking ethics and identity in fieldwork’, uses an innovative lens based on the experiences of researchers of conflict on Africa to address the limitations and ethics of conducting research, and challenge how the nature of ‘fieldwork’ is understood

Lockdown diaries: COVID-19 pandemic stories from the DRC and Sierra Leone

The global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are diverse and far-reaching, exposing fault lines in long-standing socio-economic crises. In countries historically impacted by colonialism, conflict and previous epidemics, much has been revealed about how these legacies manifest in the present, as sense is made of rapid change. Our new series uses diaries from people living under lockdown during the pandemic in the DRC and Sierra Leone to present these experiences first-hand, putting into question the nature of the crisis or, indeed, crises

Journaux du confinement: histoires de la pandémie de COVID-19 en RDC et en Sierra Leone

Les effets de la pandémie de COVID-19 à travers le monde sont profonds et variés, exposant souvent les lignes faille de crises socio-économiques sous-jacentes. Dans les pays historiquement impactés par la colonisation, les conflits armés et les épidémies, les héritages de ces crises continuent de se manifester dans le présent. Notre nouvelle série s’appuie sur les journaux de bord de personnes ayant vécu les périodes de confinement en RDC et en Sierra Leone, afin de mettre en lumière ces expériences et de s’interroger sur la nature de la crise, ou, plutôt, des crises

Human–Carnivore Interactions: Lessons Learned from Communities in the American West

Types, causes, and intensity of human–carnivore interactions are related to historical context, management policy, and human perception. We used four rural communities in the American West with varying histories and management policies to assess the complexities of human–carnivore interactions and to determine factors influencing individual willingness to coexist with carnivores. By analyzing focus group and interview data from 49 community members, we found that human perceptions towards carnivores and their management were influenced by self-perceived knowledge about carnivores, ability to be heard and have a voice in management decisions, and economic concerns rather than ecological factors. Willingness to coexist with carnivores and to adopt adaptive management were related to past carnivore experience and broader management policy frameworks. Our results suggest a need to better understand how different stakeholders interpret scientific information, what strategies can facilitate effective communication among stakeholders, and what makes stakeholders feel treated justly when human–carnivore conflicts occur

L’impact de COVID-19 sur le secteur éducatif à l’Est de la République Démocratique du Congo

Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa est Directeur Général de l’Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales de Bukavu où il dirige une institution de 4000 étudiants et 180 agents. Il nous fait part de ses réflexions à l’impact variable du virus sur le système éducatif et examine comment ces implications reflètent les préoccupations structurelles plus larges du pays

The impact of COVID-19 on the educational sector in eastern DRC

Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa is Director General of the Bukavu University Medical College, where he leads an institution of 4000 students and 180 staff. In this post he reflects critically on the variable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the DRC’s education system, the challenges his institution faced in response to government measures, and how these implications are further reflections of the country’s wider structural concerns