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Based on exclusive interviews with the LRA, one of the most notorious armed rebel groups in Africa, and their leader Joseph Kony, this study explores why current approaches to ending armed violence not only fail, but how they actively contribute to their own failure, calling for a new approach to contemporary peacemaking.
List of contents
1. Introduction: Seeking Peace with the Lord's Resistance Army; 2. The Lord's Resistance Army: A Continuum of War, Peace and Information; 3. The Juba Peace Talks with the Lord's Resistance Army in 2006: 'While Talking, There Is Troop Movement'; 4. 'Am I an Animal?': Identity, Rules and Loss in the Lord's Resistance Army; 5. The Juba Peace Talks with the Lord's Resistance Army in 2007: 'We Don't Know If We Can Trust'; 6. 'Reach Out a Hand and Pull It Back': The Lord's Resistance Army's 'Connect/Disconnect' Meets International Galvanic Surges; 7. The Juba Peace Talks with the Lord's Resistance Army in 2008: 'Maybe We Came Too Close to the Enemy'; 8. 'LRA Has Already Become a System': Representation and Distrust in the Lord's Resistance Army; 9. 'We Are All Learning in This Peace Process': Peacemaking and the Legacy of the Juba Peace Talks with the Lord's Resistance Army.
About the author
Mareike Schomerus, PhD, is a widely published researcher and commentator, as well as co-editor of volumes on African secessionism and the borderlands of South Sudan. Her recent work merges behavioural science with the qualitative study of violent conflict, political contestation and governance.
Summary
Based on exclusive interviews with the LRA, one of the most notorious armed rebel groups in Africa, and their leader Joseph Kony, this study explores why current approaches to ending armed violence not only fail, but how they actively contribute to their own failure, calling for a new approach to contemporary peacemaking.
Additional text
'An important and timely book. The subjects of the Lord's Resistance Army and Joseph Kony can be easily sensationalised. Schomerus instead takes a patient approach to unpack the violent systems that sustained the LRA, and provides a detailed account of the various attempts to make peace. The result is a very valuable addition to our stock of knowledge. The book has many wider lessons for long peace processes that occur against a backdrop of violent uncertainty. Highly recommended.' Roger Mac Ginty, Durham University
