Pertinent piece drawing attention to discrepancies between discourses on nature conservation among Western donors and supporters and perception of people living near protected areas www.ftm.eu/articles/bel...

Nice to see this 'old' but still very relevant piece of mine getting some attention. If you're looking for explanations for the poor performance of the Congolese army in the battle against the M23, my work provides many answers!

I am hiring a 2-year postdoc for my NWO-funded (Vidi) project "Centring Armed Organizations in the Climate-Conflict Nexus" (CLIMCON) which will be implemented in the DR Congo-Burundi and Uganda borderlands: www.uu.nl/en/organisat...

My latest analysis on the situation in eastern #DRC with @kvlassen.bsky.social for @egmontinstitute.bsky.social draws attention to the worsening security, economic and governance conditions both in zones held by the M23 and zones that are not. www.egmontinstitute.be/we-are-caugh...

📄𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 by @judithverweijen.bsky.social, @kvlassen.bsky.social & Godefroid Muzalia ““We Are Caught Between Violence and Famine” – Analysis of the Deepening Crisis Affecting Eastern DR Congo” #DRC 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 👉 bit.ly/3FLayRl

Excited to see this article by Xander Dunlap et al. on the decarbonization strategies employed by the Rio Tinto Kennecott mine in the US build on the work on “extractive subjectivities” that we developed in our special issue on that topic www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

On 3 April, I am giving a talk on the conflict in eastern DRC for Studium Generale Groningen-a timely event as the humanitarian conditions continue to deteriorate and diplomatic and political action is far from sufficient to move towards even de-escalation sggroningen.nl/nl/evenement...

Version française de notre analyse, avec @judithverweijen.bsky.social, du focus parfois exclusif et malsain sur les ressources naturelles dans la couverture de l’escalade des conflits dans l’est du Congo. www.jeuneafrique.com/1657155/poli...

Most reporting on the M23 crisis in DR Congo is using mistaken framings, suggesting the conflict is purely driven by a desire to plunder the region’s rich mineral resources. Opinion from @judithverweijen.bsky.social and @ethuin.bsky.social: ⬇️

Excited to see my favourite journal on here too (full disclosure, I am Associate Editor)!

Nous invitons tous les chercheurs travaillant sur les questions foncières dans les situations de conflit à soumettre un résumé pour notre session (en Anglais et Français) à LANDac en juillet, organise par Claude Iguma & moi. Date limite le 23 février: landgovernance.org/landac-annua...

Calling on all researchers working on land issues in conflict-affected settings to submit an abstract to the bilingual (French + English) and hybrid session I organize with Claude Iguma at the LANDac conference in July. Deadline for abstracts is 23 February: landgovernance.org/landac-annua...

25 years of Conflict Studies at Utrecht University! I really look forward to celebrating the anniversary of the institution where I obtained both my Master's & my PhD 👇

Goed gesprek gisteren bij @ovt-vpro.bsky.social dat mij toestand de hedendaagse Congo crisis ook in historisch perspectief te plaatsen: www.vpro.nl/programmas/o...

📄𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 by @judithverweijen.bsky.social and #KoenVlassenroot "Congo crisis extends beyond ‘conflict minerals'" #DRC #Goma 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 👉 tinyurl.com/yemx79dt

It's been made abundantly clear now that hiring a bunch of private security contractors won't compensate for the structural problems the Congolese army faces, including extremely poor service conditions, deficient logistics and intel, and parallel command chains: www.bbc.com/news/article...

New piece with @kvlassen.bsky.social on the escalating Congo crisis

Explainer by the @nytimes.com on the M23 crisis, to which I contributed some thoughts: www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/w...

📂Retrouvez toutes nos analyses, interviews et tous nos reportages sur la guerre entre le #Rwanda et la #RDCONGO dans notre dossier spécial (ouvert par un #edito de @kristoftiteca.bsky.social ) 👇@fredknife.bsky.social

excellent article qui attire l'attention sur la coopération militaire contestée de la France www.mediapart.fr/journal/inte...

As Rwanda Defence Force troops and their Congolese allies M23 close in on North Kivu's capital Goma (DRC), here's an important read by @jasonkstearns.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/8bae...

New book review -- Aaron Eddens' "Seeding Empire: American Philanthrocapital and the Roots of the Green Revolution in Africa" antipodeonline.org/category/boo... @ucpress.bsky.social

Pertinent reflections on the creation of the world's largest 'community' reserve, the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor (in DRC). Unfortunately, the new reserve was created without much prior consultation of affected populations and local authorities: www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/drc-announce...

Just out: ILS report no. 23 which analyses the Bukumu Chiefdom in eastern DRC ! It looks at the different border dynamics, processes of urbanization, and associated tensions around identity and authority that shape the chiefdom’s political economy.

As I am on it, here is another still very embryonic list bringing together people interested in and posting about armed groups across types, contexts and places. Again, please do chime in with additional suggestions in replies. go.bsky.app/b1T1De

I’m trying to put together a list of accounts related to the Great Lakes region—taking a purposely wide focus across academia, journalism, policy and other fields. Please post suggestions into replies, it is certainly all but exhaustive at the moment… go.bsky.app/2tAL3o4

Today thousands of University staff and students protested in Utrecht against the gigantic budget cuts on higher education implemented by the new very right-wing Netherlands government-in spite of yesterday’s decision by the unions to cancel the protest on contentious grounds. nos.nl/artikel/2544...

Interesting new blog post on the Rupture Press website (another brave attempt to break with academic corporate publishing! ) featuring an interview with dr. Al Gedicks on NGOisation & struggles against mining. www.rupturepress.org/blog/al-gedi...

Check out the great renewed website of Grassroots, a platform linked to the Journal of Political Ecology that publishes short academic pieces, activist contributions and visual essays on political ecology related topics : grassrootsjpe.org

New article with Kasper Hoffmann (OA in Ecology & Society)in which we critically analyse the discourse and practice of environmental peacebuilding, arguing that it creates "Dangerous environments" (in the Global South): ecologyandsociety.org/vol29/iss3/a...

The Rift Valley Institute's annual Great Lakes Course is back! Join us in Kilifi (Kenya) for a three-day immersive programme discussing the history, politics, conflicts, and environments of Africa's mighty Great Lakes region: riftvalley.net/courses/grea...

Excited that the intro of our special issue on “unearthing extractive subjects” is out now in Geoforum. It looks at how people at extractive frontiers see themselves as subjects /subjected (or not) to the power of extractive industries: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Check out the 6th paper in our special issue on the Political Ecology of Green Extractivism in the awesome, open access Journal of Political Ecology: When 'Green' becomes 'Saffron' by David Singh, exploring wind energy extractivism! journals.librarypublishing.arizona.edu/jpe/article/...

We elaborate on how gold dredging-a form of semi-industrial mining-in and near protected areas fuels dynamics of conflict and violence (including through detrimental environmental impacts) in this @iobua.bsky.social brief: medialibrary.uantwerpen.be/files/8518/e...

Great to see @mongabay.bsky.social drawing on our work to discuss the complexities of mining within protected areas, focusing on the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in eastern #DRC. news.mongabay.com/2023/10/its-...