Security dynamics in the eastern Congo are shifting rapidly. In April 2021, a new government was sworn in with a program that outlines its priorities for peacebuilding in the eastern Congo. For the first time in many years, it appears that the government is open to taking serious measures to transform the conflict. It has declared a state of siege in North Kivu and Ituri provinces and is planning on launching a new demobilization program soon. There is the feeling, along members of government as well as donors, that dynamics are shifting. It is therefore critical to inform these new initiatives with rigorous analysis and information, in order to hold leaders accountable and to provide them with the information and ideas needed.
Critical analysis and reporting will be an essential component of any peacebuilding approach. This is the goal of this project: to provide information and rigorous analysis regarding conflict dynamics in northern and eastern Congo and to disseminate these publications widely in the Congo and beyond. The Congo Research Group, a project of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, and the Ebuteli Research Institute, have conducted research and produced analysis on conflict in the eastern Congo since 2015. This project continues and expands on our previous work, incorporating the provinces of Ituri, Haut-Uélé, and Bas-Uélé in order to provide a more comprehensive analysis of conflict dynamics in the Kivus and beyond.
- Funding: Government of Sweden
- Time: 2021-2024
- People involved: Jason Stearns (Co-PI, Congo Research Group), Pierre Boisselet (Co-PI, Ebuteli Research Institute), Joshua Walker (Co-PI, Congo Research Group), Fred Bauma (Co-PI, Ebuteli Research Institute), Christoph Vogel (Co-PI)