The logistical origins of violence in Central Africa: roadblock economies in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic

Description

In this presentation, Peer explores the centrality of logistics in the violent history of Central Africa. Focusing on the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, it shows how the two universal aspirations to make things circulate and to benefit from the power to slow things down, have condemned the region to a condition of poverty and violence since pre-colonial times. Combining historical inquiry with extensive fieldwork and a mapping of over 1,000 roadblocks in Congo and the Central African Republic, it traces how aspirations to control long-distance trade gave rise to a particular history of violent conquest that culminated in colonial pathways of power; how connections were engineered in the post-independence period between these pathways in Central Africa and political control in the West; and how control over these flows ultimately became a key stake in global politics of ongoing civil wars in Central Africa.

Period	7 Nov 2017
Held at	University of California, Berkeley, United States
Degree of Recognition	International