'It's not all about the land': land disputes and conflict in the eastern Congo

Abstract

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 related to wider conflict dynamics, which are the result of an interplay between struggles for power and resources, identity narratives and territorial claims. • There is a need for better donor coordination and more coherent land governance interventions, which should be integrated into larger state-building efforts