scholarly journals Armed Conflict and Child Weight in DR Congo

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Kien Le
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
Difference In Differences ◽  
Child Weight ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Adverse Impacts ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Low Educated ◽  
Rural Mothers

This paper investigates the extent to which armed conflict influences the weight of young children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Exploiting the variation across districts in exposure to armed conflict and the within-district variation in the timing of whether the child was exposed to armed conflict due to birth timing within a difference-in-differences framework, we detect adverse impacts of conflict exposure to child weight. Specifically, experiencing armed conflict makes children weigh less for their age and weigh less for their height by 0.20 and 0.24 standard deviations, respectively. Armed conflict also increases the probability of children being underweight and wasted by 4.7 and 2.7 percentage points, respectively. Our heterogeneity analyses reveal that children of disadvantaged backgrounds, i.e., those born to low-educated mothers, poor mothers, and rural mothers, tend to be disproportionately affected. Our study calls for effective measures to mitigate the detrimental repercussions of armed conflict.

Belgian Rule and its Afterlives: Colonialism, Developmentalism, and Mobutism in the Tanganyika District, Southeastern DR-Congo, 1885–1985

2017 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 47-68
Author(s):  
Reuben Loffman
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Labor History ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
Unfree Labor ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Cold War

AbstractThe arrival of Belgian rule in the late nineteenth century initiated significant changes in the labor history of Tanganyika, a province in the southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), as well the discursive regimes used to legitimize these transformations. After the colonial conquests, unfree labor was justified by paternalistic rather than mythical discourses. Although unfree labor was less common in the postcolonial period, the state forced farmers to sell crops at low prices and build roads for no remuneration. In the Cold War context, the language and practice of developmentalism mediated the coercive practices of the independent Congolese state (known as Zaïre, 1971–1997). The floundering Zaïrian government expanded its presence in Tanganyika due to its partnership with USAID. USAID's rhetoric and practice was influenced by a “bottom up” approach to agricultural production, but the cuts to its funding in the 1980s meant it struggled to soften Mobutu's coercive administration.

Nutritional Monitoring of Preschool-Age Children by Community Volunteers during Armed Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ghislain Bisimwa ◽  
Thierry Mambo ◽  
Prudence Mitangala ◽  
Carole Schirvel ◽  
Denis Porignon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Preschool Age Children ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Community Volunteers ◽  
Nutritional Monitoring

scholarly journals Soldiers Without an Army? Patronage Networks and Cohesion in the Armed Forces of the DR Congo

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 626-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Verweijen
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Social Identification ◽  
The Political ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
Norm Enforcement ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Service Conditions ◽  
Defense Reform

This article analyzes the effects of patronage networks on cohesion in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It shows that while patronage networks provide support to individual military personnel, they undermine both peer and commander–subordinate bonding. They promote unequal service conditions and statuses and link these to extra-unit and extra-military forms of social identification, which are further reinforced by soldiers’ living and generating revenue among civilians. Furthermore, they impair meritocracy and frustrate the extent to which commanders live up to their subordinates’ expectations. As they fuel internal conflicts, often around revenue generation, and foster bad service conditions and distrust toward the political and military leadership, patronage networks also undermine institutional cohesion. The article concludes that cohesion formation in the FARDC follows different patterns than in well-institutionalized and well-resourced militaries. Given that cohesion impacts combat performance and norm enforcement, these findings are relevant for defense reform efforts and military cooperation.

scholarly journals Comparative Study of Growth and Yield of NERICA and PNR Rice Lines in Rainfed Ecosystem in the Eastern Interland of Kinshasa, DR Congo

2021 ◽  
pp. 51-62
Author(s):  
Mitashi Kimvula Jules ◽  
Lukula Lukwera Firmin
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
Natural Conditions ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Rainfed Ecosystem ◽  
Growing Population

The developing countries are rife with blatant pauperization. The agricultural sector, provider of food and a strong economy, has been in the hands of artisanal farmers for several decades. As a result, the yield is low to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. Thus, in order to help support food security in tropical countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a study was conducted on the comparison of growth and yield of 15 lines / varieties of rice under natural conditions. On the Bateke plateau (Kinshasa, DRC) during season B, from January to June 2004. The number of tillers per plant, the number of tassels per plant, the height and flowering at 50% plant, the weight of a thousand kernels as well as the yield in kg / ha were used as observation variables to evaluate the performance of the plant. Each variety under study for 4 months following a randomized full block device with 3 replicates.From our observations, it emerges that although season B was less productive than season A, a few lines / varieties of rice have shown very distinct performances. Indeed, the varieties NERICA 7, P8.20.B3. 2.1. C1, PNR 1, NERICA 5 showed good height growth while NERICA 7, P10. 100. B1. N1B1, P10. 77. B2. N2. B3, P10. 51. B1. N1. gave a high dry grain yield.Therefore, given their high yield in dry grains, these lines / varieties would be a better substitute for the varieties already in circulation (PNR 1, IRAT 112, and IRAT 341) to increase the country's rice production and thus overcome the problem of low yield experienced by the DRCongo.

scholarly journals Freshwater diatoms in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a historical overview of the research and publications

PhytoKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 107-125
Author(s):  
Christine Cocquyt ◽  
Edit Lokele Ndjombo ◽  
Simon Tutu Tsamemba ◽  
Hippolyte Nshimba Seya wa Malale
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Congo Basin ◽  
East African ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
African Lakes ◽  
Freshwater Diatoms ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Almost All ◽  
East African Lakes ◽  
Local Research

An overview of the diatom research in the DR Congo is given based on literature data starting in 1938 with the work of Zanon and excluding the East African Lakes as these were already discussed in previous papers. For each literature record the diatom genera mentioned are presented as well as all diatom taxa described from the Congo as new. In total, 106 new taxa were documented, of which Nitzschia with 40 taxa is far the most important genus followed by Navicula s.l. and Pinnularia and with 15 and 13 taxa respectively. Particular attention was paid to the local research of students found in unpublished theses at bachelor, licentiate, master and PhD level. Diatom records in these works are almost all restricted to genus level, although in the last decade an attempt to delimit species can be observed. This accompanies the renewed taxonomic interest in the Congo basin during the last decade. Renewed taxonomic interest can also be seen in the genera: the first period being situated during the lumping period, while more recent works follow the current taxonomic classification, for example Navicula s.l. versus Navicula, Cavinula, Craticula, Diadesmis, Geissleria, Humidophila, Luticola, etc.

scholarly journals Drought, Resilience, and Support for Violence: Household Survey Evidence from DR Congo

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 1994-2021
Author(s):  
Nina von Uexkull ◽  
Marco d’Errico ◽  
Julius Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Variability ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Dr Congo ◽  
Climate Variability And Change ◽  
Drought Resilience ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Household Survey Data ◽  
General Association

The effects of climate variability and change on security are debated. While this topic has received considerable attention in both policy circles and academia, the microlevel pathways and conditions under which climatic shocks increase conflict risks are poorly understood. We suggest that household resilience provides one key to understanding these relationships. Using novel household survey data from two conflict-affected regions in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, we study variation in the support for violence related to reported exposure to drought and resilience metrics. Using comprehensive multifaceted objective and subjective indicators of resilience, we find that less resilient respondents who report having experienced drought and associated losses are more likely to be supportive of the use of political violence. In contrast, our findings suggest that there is no general association between reporting drought exposure and support for violence.

What Works (and Fails) in Protection

2018 ◽  
pp. 160-177
Author(s):  
Hannah Elena Dönges ◽  
Janosch Kullenberg
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
South Sudan ◽  
Physical Security ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Central Task ◽  
What Works ◽  
Peace And Security ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Operational Issues

Over the last fifteen years, the Protection of Civilians (POC) has become a central task of peacekeeping operations. Despite this prominent role and the mediatized criticism on protection failures, knowledge about how protection functions in practice is actually quite limited. This chapter, therefore, examines protection practices on the ground in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and South Sudan (UNMISS) and connects the findings to the existing literature. In this way, the chapter identifies a number of operational issues in the administration, planning, and coordination of protection, and describes how these issues have contributed to the success and/or failure of specific protection efforts across missions. This chapter argues that despite the practical overlap and implications for the physical security of populations in armed conflict, the POC, and Women, Peace, and Security agendas have evolved in rather disconnected ways. At the same time, we observe that the emergence of the WPS agenda has facilitated increased recognition of gendered vulnerabilities in protection.

scholarly journals Letter from the Editor

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 6-7
Author(s):  
Dustin Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Graduate School ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
International Crisis ◽  
The North ◽  
Safer Schools ◽  
The World ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
Catch Up

For this volume of Allons-y we asked young authors to write about how armed conflict impacts children in the countries on International Crisis Group’s ten conflicts to watch in 2018 list. Much has changed in these conflicts since then, but all continue to do grave harm to children, which we struggle to address in the aftermath. The militarization and abuse of children are often used by autocratic regimes and armed groups to further their aims, and the trauma can have a lasting impact on the children and their societies. The four papers and their accompanying commentary in this volume illustrate these challenges and collectively highlight the importance of prevention.The authors, all young scholars who are in or have recently completed graduate school, wrote about the ways in which children are ripped from their communities in order to be used for military and political ends in armed conflict, and the difficulties of repairing these harms afterwards, whether in countries affected by armed conflict like the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or when people flee as refugees to new lands. The first two papers explore how children are weaponized: Peter Steele writes about the North Korean Songbun system that militarizes children from birth, and Airianna Murdoch-Fyke writes about the systematic use of rape as a weapon of war targeted at girls in the DRC. Both methods are designed to disrupt a child’s connection to their family and community. The last two papers explore the difficulties of addressing the resulting trauma: Arpita Mitra writes about the failures of the demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration process in the DRC, and Emily Pelley writes about the difficulties of aiding young refugees exposed to wartime violence when they come to Northern countries such as Canada. Collectively, these papers highlight the need to invest more in prevention of wartime abuses, rather than scrambling to catch-up and repair the damage already done.While it may be cliché to say that young people are the future, it is also the truth, and it is important for them to have platforms to discuss and present their ideas and contribute to the most pressing challenges facing our world. Whether it is young politicians challenging our complacency on climate change, students fighting for safer schools, young activists towards peace in their countries and around the world, or young scholars such as the authors of this volume, we must turn to and support the younger generations who are invested in making a better world for themselves and all of humanity. In this spirit, Allons-y seeks to pair the academic and practical work of young people with the commentary of those who are more experienced in their field to demonstrate how young people can contribute to and create a brighter tomorrow.

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