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Cows and guns. Cattle-related conflict and armed violence in Fizi and Itombwe, eastern DR Congo

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posted on 2023-06-09, 15:15 authored by Judith Verweijen, Justine Brabant
This paper analyses the role of cattle in the entwined dynamics of conflict and violence in the Fizi and Itombwe region of South Kivu province, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. On the one hand, agropastoral conflict intensifies armed mobilisation, allowing armed groups to draw upon particular conflict narratives that generate popular and elite support. It also creates incentives for armed actors to engage in cattle-looting, or the defence against it, for both symbolic and material reasons. On the other hand, the presence of armed forces and the use of violence profoundly shape agropastoral conflicts. Importantly, they change the perceived stakes of these conflicts, and hamper their resolution. By showing that the relations between cattle-related conflict and armed activity are indirect, complex and mutual, the paper refines both theories on agropastoral conflict and those highlighting the role of local conflicts in fuelling violence in the eastern Congo.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Accepted version

Journal

Journal of Modern African Studies

ISSN

0022-278X

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Issue

1

Volume

55

Page range

1-27

Department affiliated with

  • International Relations Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-09-27

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-09-27

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-09-26

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