Koen Vlassenroot is Professor of Political Sciences and Director of the Conflict Research Group at the University of Ghent. He is also the Director of the Observatoire de l’Afrique, an associate senior researcher at the Egmont Institute and a member of the Congo Affinity Group. He specializes in conflict dynamics in Central Africa, with a particular interest in eastern DRC. He has written numerous book chapters and articles on militias, land access, rebel governance and state-building. He co-authored Conflict and Social Transformation in Eastern DR Congo (2004) and co-edited The Lord’s Resistance Army: Myth or reality? (2010). He is a consultant researcher on the RVI Usalama Project and teaches on the RVI Great Lakes Course. His current research projects focus on artisanal mining and land conflicts in eastern DRC and on public authority, justice and security in DRC and CAR.