I am a Professor (full professor/Hoogleraar) at the Institute of Development Policy at Antwerp University. My work lies at the intersection of political science, development – and area – studies, and relies heavily on field research.
I’m the author of ‘Nasser Road. Political Posters in Uganda‘ (editor, Eriskay Connection), ‘Rebel Lives. Photographs from inside the Lord’s Resistance Army’ (Hannibal Books/ FOMU), and Negotiating Public Services in the Congo (edited with Tom De Herdt, Zed Books), in addition to articles for academic publications such as African Affairs, International Affairs and many others. I am a regular contributor to a variety of media-platforms, such as The New Humanitarian, Washington Post’s Monkey Cage, African Arguments, Al Jazeera, and many others.
I focus on governance- and conflict- dynamics in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I study the ways in which the state interacts with a range of non-state actors at a variety of scales and with a variety of actors: rebel groups, international donors, local non-state actors, and so on.
I am fascinated by the use of visual material, both as a research method, as a way to make academic output available to a broader audience, and for its aesthetic value in itself. My books ‘Nasser Road’, and the book & exhibition Rebel Lives – in collaboration with Georges Senga, Rein Deslé and others – is an important example.
I obtained my PhD at the Conflict Research Group, Ghent University, in 2007. I was a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) in 2013-2014, at the Department of International Development. I have worked, and continue to work, closely with a number of Universities in the DRC and Uganda, through VLIR-UOS partnerships.
I regularly engage with policy, in a number of ways. I for example was an expert witness at the International Criminal Court for the case of ex-LRA commander Dominic Ongwen; or my spotlight briefing for the UNDP Borderlands Centre, where I wrote about informal cross-border trade along the Uganda-DRC border.
I live with my family in Antwerp, and spend a lot of time on Antwerp’s playgrounds with our three kids. I’m fascinated with photography (I studied photography at the Luca School of Arts, Ghent, 2003-2007). Have a look at this website to see some of my own work.
Contact: Kristof.titeca (at) uantwerp.be
You can follow me on Twitter, Researchgate, Academia or Instagram. (but please reach out via email, rather than through messaging on these platforms).
News
I’m closely following the dynamics around the anti-LGBTQ law in Uganda, and have written a range of pieces on this subject, such as:
- A series on the foreign influences behind the law in Uganda for Democracy in Africa, looking at the role of the US Christian right, Russia, and foreign donors. The series has been translated in French for Afrique XII.
- A piece on the geopolitics of the law for African Arguments
- A piece on the ambiguity of Western reaction for De Volkskrant and Zam magazine.
New on Nasser Road: book and exhibition
I am currently preparing a Nasser Road print of the Nasser Road book. The book will be (re)printed in the street, and will be available in Kampala and Uganda. It will become available after the book presentation at the 21st of October 2023. The book presentation is a collaboration with the Uganda Press Photo Awards (UPPA); the Nasser Road edition is a collaboration with History in Progress Uganda.
Attention for the book:
- Nominated for the 2023 Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award
- Shortlisted for the 2023 ‘author book award’ of the Arles Rencontres de la Photography.
- British Journal of Photography
- Le Monde Diplomatique
- Trigger
- Africa As a Country
- Review of African Political Economy
- MO Magazine
- Afrique XXI
- Belgian Platform for Photobooks
- Protest in the Photobook