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.
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This report by Henning Tamm examines the precipitous decline in armed violence in Ituri, a district that manifests all of the Congo’s main challenges to stabilization. The report focuses on the Front des nationalistes intégrationnistes (FNI, Front of Integrationist Nationalists) and the Force…
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,…
This report by Henning Tamm examines the convergence of factors that helped create and then broke apart the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC, Union of Congolese Patriots), one of Ituri’s most powerful armed groups. Created in the context of Ugandan occupation,…
This Usalama report by Dan Fahey sets out the background to the years of conflict in Ituri district of the north-eastern DRC. The particularly vicious nature of war in Ituri––including large-scale massacres, widespread sexual violence, and the use of…
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 rapport Usalama par Koen Vlassenroot décrit la dynamique historique à l’origine des mouvements armés au Sud-Kivu, en mettant plus précisément l’accent sur la période située avant la Première Guerre du Congo. La province du Sud-Kivu se trouve au…
- By Jason Stearns, Anonymous
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Ce rapport du Projet Usalama examine les Maï-Maï de William Amuri Yakutumba, un groupe qui, initialement, ont été démobilisé après la Deuxième Guerre du Congo (1998-2003). Cependant, après avoir peiné de trouver d’autres moyens de subsistance, ils ont remobilisé,…
Ce rapport Usalama par Jason Stearns et al. examine les Banyamulenge, une communauté Tutsi vivant dans l’est de la RDC qui s’est trouvée au coeur des multiples conflits qui sévissent de manière intermittente dans l’est de la RDC depuis…
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…
Recent Publications
Enhancing the Role of Borderland Communities in Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy
October 15, 2025
Ethiopia’s borderland communities (BLCs) have historically influenced the country’s relations with its neighbours. These peripheral regions often serve as hubs for cross-border trade, repositories of natural resources and, at times, flashpoints of conflict. Surrounded by six neighbouring countries – Djibouti,
Women in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Ethiopia: The case of Addis Ababa University
October 10, 2025
This preliminary assessment is part of the launch exercise of the Ethiopian Women Researchers’ Network (EWNET). Focusing on Addis Ababa University as a pioneering higher institution in the country, the study looks into the status of women within these disciplines
Iddir in Contemporary Social Science and Humanities Research in Ethiopia: Historicizing and theorizing local infrastructures of care
October 3, 2025
The second Ethiopian Women Researchers Network (EWNET) seminar was delivered by Desalegn Amsalu, Anteneh Tesfaye, Yasmin Bushra and Helen Zeru on 3 July 2025 at Addis Ababa University’s Alle School of Fine Arts & Design. EWNET SEMINAR SERIES REPORT The