 | The
two day conference on Militarization, Violence and Livelihoods
at St. Antony's College, Oxford organised by Sue Lautze explored how livelihoods
are militarized in a conflict setting. Among the fourteen presentations, three
stood out which examined the interactions between violence and livelihoods. A
presentation by Edward O. Mogire, A Critical Examination of Refugee Militarization
in East Africa, explored how refugees and their camps are militarized. He
uncovered that there is along history of militarization of refugees in East Africa
which commenced during the colonial period when refugees played a crucial role
in the liberation wars. He explained how refugee militarization has taken many
forms including: - Refugee
participation/support for insurgencies
- Refugees
as proxies by host states/rebel groups to pursue political/geo-strategic goals
against neighbouring states
- Presence
and abuse of firearms and use of camp for firearms trafficking
- Use
of refugee resources to support armed conflict (voluntary and cohersive)
- Military
training of refugees
- Attacks
on refugee settlements
Together
this militarization has had a negative impact on the livelihoods strategies of
refugees which is further discussed in E. Mogire' DPhil Thesis which will be online
shortly. For a background, see E. Mogire's paper A
Preliminary Exploration of the Linkages between Refugees and Small Arms In
contrast, Kristof Titeca
in The Role of the Informal Transborder Economy in Shaping the Local Political
Arena: THE 'OPEC BOYS' in ARUA, West-Nile, described how the "OPEC Boys"
have maximised the opportunities of instability, threat and fear in the West-Nile
region. The "OPEC Boys" siphoning and reselling of petrol from Congo
to Uganda has been tolerated and even encouraged as local authorities see it as
minimal threat from a potentially highly threatening segment of society (unemployed,
young and male). Allowing
the " OPEC Boys", and their networks within the region, to operate mitigates
the risk of armed rebellion. K. Titeca illustrates how the "OPEC Boys"
have come to play a significant role in shaping the social and political arena.
The "OPEC Boys":- Constitute
a respected network of social regulation
- Maintain
a strong impact on the position of local politicians, which they can "make
or break"
The
"OPEC Boys" are entrepreneurial in their ability to fill a gap in the
market for fuel in rural regions, however, the discourse which surrounds them
paint them as lazy and searching for an easy livelihood. Despite this, illicit
trade for the "OPEC Boys" seems to be an effective livelihoods strategy
and has gained them respect from local communities. However, the interconnection
between the formal and informal governance structures raises many questions around
legitimacy and representation. As
the paper presentations continued, it became clear that militarised livelihoods
is not a new phenomena. Sue Lautze, in A History of Militarized Livelihoods
in Uganda, provided a review of key moments in Ugandan history to illustrate
the evolution of militarised livelihoods systems. She argues that the policies,
institutions and processes, since the use of the gun, have favoured violence as
a livelihood strategy. She traces the use of gun based livelihoods from colonial
period up to the present. Joining the army, local defence unit or taking up arms
for those outside the formal Ugandan armies, remains, according to S. Lautze,
one of the few livelihoods options in this war-affected region. This leaves one
questioning the link between a lack of assets and capacity to violence. Does marginalisation
contribute to the propagation of violence? Conference
papers will be brought togther and submitted to the Oxford Development Studies
journal. Stay tuned.
 The workshop
agenda (DOC)
Workshop
Presentor Contact Details (DOC)
Further
Information
Sue
Lautze
D.Phil Candidate
QEH, Oxford
Susan.Lautze@qeh.ox.ac.uk
Phone
+256 (0) 78 73 30 89 |
