This Usalama Project report sketches the historical background to the proliferation of armed groups that have emerged in the North Kivu province of the DRC over the past two decades. It serves primarily to demystify the numerous factions and…
RVI publishes books, research reports, research papers, briefings and meeting reports in a range of formats. Publications cover policy, research, arts, culture and local knowledge in the countries of eastern and central Africa. Research publications—books, reports and papers—are peer-reviewed. Some RVI publications are also available in French and/or Arabic.
The RVI is a signatory of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (2001); all publications are free for download in PDF format under Creative Commons licences. The views expressed in books and reports published by the RVI are those of the authors, not the Institute.
SEARCH
PUBLICATION TYPE
LANGUAGE
REGION
COUNTRY
This Usalama Project report describes the origins, rapid evolution, expansion and activities of this diverse force. The group began as a local response to rampant insecurity but profited from flaws in the various peace deals in the eastern DRC,…
About this publication This Usalama Project Briefing presents a profile of one of the M23’s most important commanders, General Bosco Ntaganda. Despite his indictment by the International Criminal Court on charges of recruiting child soldiers, murder, rape, and sexual…
This Usalama Project briefing presents a concise biography of the M23’s senior commander, Sultani Makenga, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It describes his rise through the ranks, his earlier membership of the Rassemblement congolais pour la…
This Usalama Project report explores the 2012-2013 M23 rebellion in the eastern DRC. It also discusses the implications of the rebellion for the DRC’s eastern neighbours, Rwanda and Uganda, who have been accused of aiding and abetting the M23. ‘Despite…
Ce briefing du Projet Usalama présente une biographie concise du commandant en chef du M23, Sultani Makenga. Il décrit son ascension dans les rangs, son adhésion précédente au Rassemblement congolais pour la démocratie (RCD) et au Congrès national pour…
Ce rapport du Projet Usalama explore les racines de la plus récente rébellion dans l’est de la RDC. Il discute aussi les implications de la rébellion sur les voisins à l’est de la RDC, le Rwanda et l’Ouganda, qui…
Ce rapport du Projet Usalama résume le contexte historique de la profusion des groupes armés qui ont surgit dans les deux dernières décennies dans la province du Nord-Kivu en RDC. Le rapport sert à démystifier les nombreux factions armées…
Ce rapport du Projet Usalama traite des origines et activités de la PARECO, la Coalition des patriotes congolais résistants, une faction qui a surgit de griefs locales au sujet de questions foncières, devenait puissant comme réponse au CNDP et qui…
Ce briefing du Projet Usalama présente un profil de l’un des commandants les plus importants du M23, le général Bosco Ntaganda. Malgré son inculpation par la Cour pénale internationale sur des accusations d’enrôlement et utilisation d’enfants soldats, de meurtre,…
Recent Publications
Thinking about Borderlands: Observations and implications from XCEPT programme research
March 31, 2025
Do the ways in which policymakers and national governments view borderlands reflect how the communities living there experience them? Building on this, can a better understanding of the characteristics of borderlands help in promoting development, improving governance and making more
Digital Governance and Security in the Horn of Africa
March 28, 2025
While digital finance—including mobile money—has developed unevenly across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, such technologies are nevertheless transforming everyday economic activities. In some cases, borderlands and cross-border financial flows are central to these digital developments and are driving further innovation. From
Legally Informal: Women, conflict and cross-border trade in the Mandera tri-border area
March 28, 2025
In the Mandera triangle—a pastoralist region encompassing the point at which the borders of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia meet—the reality of local and cross-border trade often diverges widely from official state policies of control. This disjunction has created a grey