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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | The Politics of Rebellion and Intervention in Ituri: The Emergence of a New Political Complex? |
Authors: | Vlassenroot, Koen Raeymaekers, Timothy |
Year: | 2004 |
Periodical: | African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society |
Volume: | 103 |
Issue: | 412 |
Period: | July |
Pages: | 385-412 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Congo (Democratic Republic of) |
Subjects: | civil wars international politics military intervention political economy ethnic warfare Law, Human Rights and Violence Politics and Government Inter-African Relations Economics and Trade Military, Defense and Arms |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/3518563 |
Abstract: | This article offers an interpretation of the present conflict in Ituri (Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC) based on social analysis. The central argument is that the outbreak of violence in Ituri has been the result of the exploitation, by local and regional actors, of a deeply-rooted local political conflict for access to land, economic opportunity and political power. The destruction of the local socioeconomic fabric and the emergence of ethnicity as the main basis for political mobilization has been the result of a long historical process in which access to land, education, political positions and economic dominance have played a crucial role. Although foreign elements (Uganda, Rwanda) have contributed significantly to the escalation of the political crisis in Ituri, the war has also provided a perfect platform for local political and economic actors to redefine their position in this new political and economic landscape. Eventually, this emerging political complex has led to the development of a new political economy, characterized by a shift from traditional to military rule, privatized, non-territorial networks of economic control, and the consolidation of ethnic bonds in the economic and political sphere. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract] |