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Poverty amid plenty: structural violence and local governance in western Congo |
Gaynor, Niamh
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The protracted conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has drawn sharp criticism
regarding the model of liberal peacebuilding employed in the country. Critics emphasise the
importance of local ownership of peacebuilding mechanisms at sub-national as well as national levels.
This raises questions in relation to the popular legitimacy and efficacy of local mechanisms.
Drawing on field research conducted in the relatively affluent province of Bas-Congo in Western
Congo, this article highlights a lack of popular legitimacy for provincial level political authority
within the province stemming from an acute marginalisation of the population from local structures of
power and wealth. The article also demonstrates the inefficacy of more local, village and
neighbourhood-based political structures which, aimed at conflict mitigation rather than
transformation, ignore the structural roots of local conflicts and do little to counteract the growing
social distrust, conflict and disintegration within local communities.
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Keyword(s):
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Political science; Public administration; Democratic Republic of Congo; structural violence; local governance; conflict; liberal peacebuilding |
Publication Date:
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2015 |
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Type:
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Other |
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Peer-Reviewed:
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Unknown |
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Language(s):
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English |
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Institution:
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Dublin City University |
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Citation(s):
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Gaynor, Niamh ORCID: 0000-0001-5645-7032 <https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5645-7032> (2015) Poverty amid plenty: structural violence and local governance in western Congo. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 33 (3). pp. 391-410. ISSN 0258-9001 |
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Publisher(s):
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Taylor & Francis |
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File Format(s):
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application/pdf |
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Related Link(s):
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http://doras.dcu.ie/23932/1/Doras.pdf,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589001.2015.1107287 |
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First Indexed:
2019-11-16 06:28:07 Last Updated:
2019-11-16 06:28:07 |
