Here’s a recent podcast interview I did with the International Crisis Group on Ugandan politics and its ‘transition’.

My main publications on this issue are the following (in reverse chronological order):

Titeca, Kristof (2026) ‘Uganda After Museveni’ Journal of Democracy, 37(1), 80-92.

Titeca, Kristof, Anders Sjögren, and Frank Ahimbisibwe (2025) “Between the ghetto and the establishment: Bobi Wine, Uganda’s NUP and the challenges of movement-to-party transition in an electoral autocracy.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 63(4): 263-284.

Titeca, Kristof (2021) Who depends on whom? Uganda’s refugee ‘success story’, corruption and the international community, Third World Quarterly.

Titeca, Kristof (2019) Its own worst enemy? The Ugandan government is taking desperate measures to control rising dissent. Egmont: Africa Policy Brief.

Titeca, Kristof (2019) ‘Decentralisation and regime control in Uganda‘, in: Wiegratz, Joerg, Martinello, Giuliano, Greco, Elisa (eds.)  The making of neoliberal Uganda: The political economy of state and capital after 1986. London: Zed Books.

Reuss, Anna and Kristof Titeca (2017) ‘When revolutionaries grow old: the Museveni babies and the slow death of the liberation in Uganda’, Third World Quarterly, 38(10): 2347-2366.

Titeca, Kristof (2014) ‘The Commercialization of Uganda’s 2011 Election in the Urban Informal Economy: Money, Boda-Bodas and Market Vendors’, in: Perrot, Sandrine; Makara, Sabiti; Lafargue, Jerome; Fouéré, Marie-Aude (eds.) Elections in a hybrid regime. Revisiting the 2011 polls. Kampala: Fountain publishers, pp.178-207.

I regularly write op-eds on current affairs in Uganda. A selection of recent ones:

‘Beyond the ballot: Uganda’s elections and the politics of late Musevenism’. Democracy in Africa, 5 December 2025.

“Uganda’s fixed election belies an uncertain future.” Foreign Policy, 27 November 2025.

The ‘Muhoozi Project’ in Uganda: Testing the water or preparing the ground?, in Democracy in Africa (27.05.22).

The cynical realpolitik of the War on Terror : Uganda 2021 edition, in African Arguments (29.11.21), with Eric Mwine-Mugaji.

After a violent election, Uganda’s government faces three big challenges in the Washington Post (Monkey Cage, 16.02.21), with Anna Reuss.

Museveni and the West : relationship status: it’s complicated, in African Arguments (07.01.21), with Anna Reuss.

How Museveni mastered violence to win elections in Uganda, in African Arguments (19.11.20), with Anna Reuss.

This is why Bobi Wine constitutes an unprecedented threat to Museveni, in Democracy in Africa (17.12.20)  

I’m closely studying the activities of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebel group, active in the Democratic Republic of Congo & Uganda. I study the group on different levels – global, regional, national and local – and I’m preparing a range of publications on these. My most important publications on this issue are the following:

Titeca, K., & Salvaggio, G. (2026). Beyond the Jihadist label: understanding the ADF’s multilayered violence. Egmont Paper, January 2026.

de la Plaga, Tommaso, and Kristof Titeca (2025) “The Violent Politics of Customary Authority in Bashu: Dynasties, State Power and the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).” Afrika Focus 38.2: 443-461.

Titeca, Kristof and Daniel Fahey (2016) “The many faces of a rebel group: the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo” International Affairs 92: 5 (2016) 1189–1206.

Titeca, K., Vlassenroot, K. (2012) ‘Rebels without borders in the Rwenzori borderland? A biography of the Allied Democratic Forces’ Journal of Eastern African Studies 6(1): 154-176.

I’ve conducted extensive field research on the rebel in Northern Uganda and North-Eastern DRC on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA); from the mid-2000’s up to today. My interests evolve around i) the production of knowledge on the conflict and rebel group, ii) the role of spirituality within the group, iii) the case of ex-LRA commander Dominic Ongwen at the ICC, and iv) the use of photographs by the group (i.e. the Rebel Lives project). My main publications on this issue are the following:

Titeca, Kristof (2025) “Kony 2025: The Survival of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the CAR–Sudan–DRC Borderlands.” African Affairs. Article in The Conversation and the Daily Nation.

Titeca, Kristof (2025) ‘Why Hasn’t Joseph Kony Been Caught?’ Foreign Policy, 16 September 2025.

Titeca, Kristof (2019) Rebel Lives. Photographs from inside the Lord’s Resistance Army. Hannibal publications, 288 pp.

Titeca, K. (2020) ‘The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo: (un)invited guests?’. Institute of Development Policy Working Paper 2020, 7.

Titeca, Kristof, Costeur, Théophile (2015) ‘An LRA for everyone. How different actors frame their own Lord’s Resistance Army’. African Affairs. 114  (454):  92-114.

Titeca, K. (2021) ‘The fog of war (crimes trials): the politics of epistemology in the Dominic Ongwen Trial’, 03 February 2021.

Ronan, P., Titeca, K. (2020) ‘Kony’s rebels remain a threat, but they’re also selling honey to get by’, African Arguments, 03 October 2020. Republished in The New Vision.

Titeca, K. (2010 ) ‘The spiritual order of the Lord’s Resistance Army‘ in: Allen, T., Vlassenroot, K. The Lord’s Resistance Army: Myth and Reality. London: Zed Books, 59-73.

Politics and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

I closely follow Congolese politics, and the (regional aspects of) conflict in Eastern Congo.

My most important publications:

Stearns, Jason and Kristof Titeca (2025) ‘Rwanda’s Attack on Congo Could Plunge Africa Into War’, Foreign Policy, 28 February 2025.

Titeca, Kristof, and Giovanni Salvaggio (2025) “Understanding Uganda’s (ambiguous) actions in Eastern DRC: military interventions to protect roads and trade?“, Egmont Paper 135, June 2025.

Titeca, K. (2024). Uganda’s chess game in Eastern DRC: with or without M23?. Egmont African Policy Brief, June 2024.

Titeca, K. (2023). Russian influence, anti-Western sentiments and African agency: The struggle for influence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 45(1).

 ‘Real governance’ in Kinshasa, together with together with Albert Malukisa (Ebuteli/ Université Catholique du Congo).

This research takes a ‘real governance’ or ‘hybrid governance’ approach in analysing the state and public services – an empirically driven understanding of everyday statehood and the delivery of public services.  Concretely, it studies the question how people relate to dominant political and economic structures in Kinshasa: how do they navigate these pressures, contest them, and/or become part of them? The project does so by looking at a number of spaces, in particular the transportation- and police-services (the street spaces); businessmen and markets (the market spaces), soccer (spaces of pleasure), the history of Kinshasa and urban planning (the city space). In doing so, the project analyses the interaction between broader structural circumstances and the agency of the wider population – in other words, the “resourcefulness, inventiveness, and determination” (Murray and Myers 2006: 2) of urban residents in the light of political and economic structures beyond their control.

Book under contract with ZED/Bloomsbury.

‘Real governance beyond the “failed state in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)‘ African Affairs, 2011, 110(439):213-231.

Traffic police, unofficial revenue collection and (informal) taxation; together with Albert Malukisa (Ebuteli/ Université Catholique du Congo) and Raul Sanchez de la Sierra (Chicago University)

This research project investigates unofficial revenue collection by the traffic police in Kinshasa, and the way this is reproduced within the police administration. It is a mixed-method research project, combining long-term qualitative research and quantitative methods. The research was published in the American Economic Review:

Sanchez De La Sierra, R., Titeca, K., Xie, H., Lameke, A. A., & Malukisa Nkuku, A. (2024) The real state: Inside the congo’s traffic police agency. American Economic Review, 114(12), 3976-4014.

As a working paper, it has been published in a series of outlets – such as the as the National Bureau of Economic Research and the Becker Friedman Institute. The paper, co-authored with Raul Sanchez de la Sierra, Haoyang (Stan) Xie, Albert Malukisa Nkuku & Aimable A. Lameke, has been years in the making (with field research being conducted in 2015). It quantitatively maps unofficial revenue collection by the Kinshasa traffic police,  and offers new quantitative data on the way unofficial revenue is collected and distributed within the police administration. AFP wrote on the paper here.

Understanding the political economy of Congo’s civil service remunerations and recruitment system. With Stylianos Moshonas (Uantwerp), Tom De Herdt (UAntwerp) and Albert Malukisa (Université Catholique du Kinshasa)

I was the co-promotor of an FWO (Research Fund – Flanders) project on this theme,  exploring the functioning of the Congolese wage bill and payroll system. The research builds on the ethnographic tradition in the study of ‘real governance’ and ‘negotiated statehood’, applied to the back office bureaucracy of the central administration.

Key-publications:

Moshonas, S., De Herdt, T., Titeca, K., & Balungwe Shamavu, P. (2024). “Increasingly wageless? The political economy of salary supplements in the Congolese civil service.” IOB Working papers, University of Antwerp. Institute of Development Policy and Management; Université d’Anvers. Institut de politique et de gestion du développement.-Antwerp.

Moshonas, S., De Herdt, T., Titeca, K., & Balungwe Shamavu, P. (2024) “La désalarisation de la fonction publique? L’économie politique des primes dans lladministration publique Congolaise.”  IOB Working papers, University of Antwerp. Institute of Development Policy and Management; Université d’Anvers. Institut de politique et de gestion du développement.-Antwerp.

Moshonas, S., De Herdt T., Titeca, K. and Balungwe, P.  (2022) “Bureaucratic fragmentation by design? the case of payroll management in the democratic Republic of Congo.” African Affairs 121(485): 509-534.

Oil politics in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

What are the underlying political dynamics influencing the governance of DRC’s oil sector? In a series of articles and blog posts, I try to map these dynamics.

‘The political economy of oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Corruption and regime control’, The Extractive Industries and Society 2019; 6(2): 542-551. (with Patrick Edmond).

‘The DRC–Angola Offshore Oil Dispute: How Regime (In)Security Outweighs Sovereign Claims’ Journal of Southern African Studies, 2019, 45:5, 841-857 (with Patrick Edmond and Erik Kennes).

‘Chicken now, not eggs later: short-termism, underdevelopment and regime stabilisation in the DRC’s oil governance’, IOB Discussion Paper 2018.1

‘Congo’s oil auction: foiling climate colonialism or filling the coffers?‘, African Arguments, 23 August 2022 (with Catherine Windey and Olivier Bahati Mastaki).

‘Why Congo’s decision to open national parks to drilling isn’t really about oil‘, African Arguments, 13 July 2018 (with Patrick Edmond).

Protected areas located in areas of violent conflict are often conceived as spaces where the state has lost its control and parks are ‘dissolved’, to the point where poaching and violent extraction of resources run free. This project focuses on the regulatory practices in these areas, by looking at the ‘social contract’ of conservation, between protected areas, armed actors and the general population. The project focuses on Garamba National Park in North-Eastern Democratic Congo, and is a collaboration with Patrick Edmond.

I am working on a forthcoming book project with photographer Leonard Pongo and researcher Patrick Edmond – see here.

My main publications on this issue are the following:

Simpson, F. O. L., Titeca, K., Pellegrini, L., Muller, T., & Dubois, M. M. (2025). “Indigenous forest destroyers or guardians? The indigenous Batwa and their ancestral forests in Kahuzi-Biega National Park, DRC. “World Development, 186, 106818.

Titeca, K., Edmond, P. Marchais, G. & Esther Marijnen (2020) ‘Conservation as a social contract in a violent frontier: The case of (Anti-) poaching in Garamba National Park, eastern DR Congo’ (2020) Political Geography 78 (20): 1-9.

Titeca, Kristof and Patrick Edmond (2019) ‘Outside the Frame: Looking Beyond the Myth of Garamba’s LRA’s Ivory–Terrorism Nexus’ Conservation and Society 17 (3), 258-269

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Illegal ivory trade as transnational organized crime? An empirical study into ivory traders in Uganda’, British Journal of Criminology Online first.

Titeca, Kristof (2013) “Out of Garamba, into Uganda: poaching and trade of ivory in Garamba National Park and LRA-affected areas in Congo” IOB analysis and policy brief N° 5, November 2013.

My interest in this issue was sparked when I started following a group of fuel smugglers called the ‘OPEC boys’ during the course of my PhD research in the mid-2000s. It led to a particular interest in the organisation of this trade – something I continue to follow up to today. While my main interest is in sociology of illegality, I have focused on the smuggling of particular commodities over the years, such as cigarettes, fuel or ivory.

My main publications on this issue are the following (in reverse chronological order):

Titeca, Kristof (2021) ‘Smuggling as a legitimate activity? The OPEC Boys as social bandits in Northern Uganda’, in: Gallien, M. & F. Weigand (eds). The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling. London: Routledge.

Titeca, Kristof (2020). Informal cross-border trade along the Uganda-DRC Border. UNDP United Nations Development Programme, Borderlands Policy Briefing Series, No 2.

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Illegal ivory trade as transnational organized crime? An empirical study into ivory traders in Uganda’, British Journal of Criminology Online first.

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Understanding the illegal ivory trade and traders: evidence from Uganda’, International Affairs, 94:5, pp.1077-1099

Titeca, K. (2012) ‘Tycoons and contraband: informal cross-border trade in West Nile, north-western Uganda’ Journal of Eastern African Studies 6(1): 47-63.

Titeca, K., Joossens, L, Raw, M. (2011) ‘Cigarette smuggling and war economies in central and eastern Africa’ Tobacco Control 20(3): 226-232.

Titeca, K., De Herdt, T. (2010) ‘Regulation, cross-border trade and practical norms in West Nile, north-western Uganda ‘Africa 80(4): 573-594.

Titeca, K. (with C. Kimanuka) (2012) ‘Walking in the dark. Informal cross-border trade in the Great Lakes Region’. London: International Alert, 49p. In French.

Titeca, K. (2009) ‘The changing Cross-border Trade Dynamics between North-western Uganda, North-eastern Congo and Southern Sudan‘, Crisis States Working Paper 63 series 2, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Nasser Road is nicknamed ‘Uganda’s Silicon Valley’. Strategically located near Kampala’s commercial and political centres, this narrow street crammed with bustling arcades forms the heart of the city’s printing trade. It is also a byword for creative and fraudulent paperwork; from identity cards to university degrees, a convincing replica of just about any official document can be acquired in Nasser Road.

This publication pays tribute to one of the street’s most commercially successful products, a constantly-updated series of posters depicting politicians and well-known personalities as superheroes. These locally-created icons feature images of prominent figures such as Saddam Hussein, Osama Bin Laden or Muammar Gaddafi, each transformed into RoboCop-like figures, ready for combat. The artworks are both decorative and political, telling the story of the common man’s struggle against the might of Western imperialism, with international villains celebrated as anti-heroes.

I have been collecting the posters of Nasser Road for over twenty years, drawn by their unique perspective and distinctive style. Nasser Road is a collage of works by local designers presented alongside recent and vintage prints, and accompanied by my analysis. It also contains photographs of Nasser Road made by myself, as well as by Ugandan photographers Badru Katumba and Zahara Abdul, and accompanied by a number of columns from playwright and essayist Yusuf Serunkuma.

The Kunsthal in Rotterdam currently has an exhibition on show, based on my book, entitled ‘Robocop in Uganda. Political Posters as Resistance’. It opened on the 20^th of April, and is on show until the 1^st of September. It features the posters, as well as images of Badru Katumba, Zahara Abdul and myself; and a video interview with Yusuf Serunkuma. The exhibition received a 4-star review in NRC. Radio interviews on the exhibition can be listened here (NPO) and here (Klara/Pompidou).

A second edition of the Nasser Road book was printed in Nasser Road itself. It is available in Uganda (at the Uganda Museum and with Mahiri books), and worldwide.

A book presentation in Kampala took place in October 2023, in collaboration with Fotea and the Uganda Press Photo Awards (UPPA).

Awards:

• Nominated for the 2023 Aperture Paris Photo First Book Award
• Shortlisted for the 2023 ‘author book award’ of the Arles Rencontres de la Photography.
• Price best Dutch Book Design 2023.
• Shortlisted for ‘Best book design from all over the world‘ from Stifting Buchkunst (Germany)
• Shortlisted for photobook of the year, category ‘research’, for PhotoEspana. 
• Shortlisted for the African Photobook of the Year Award 2024.

Press: 

• 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
• GEO Magazine
• NRC
• De Standaard 
• De Groene Amsterdammer
• Breedbeeld
• Metropolis M (June 2024 print issue)
• Radio-interviews: Pompidou/Klara; NPO De NieuwsBV

Reviews

“The material choices add a clever touch to an already fantastic book. The cardstock used throughout the book structures and presents the content perfectly, creating a uniquely supportive platform for Titeca’s research.” (Alex Lin)

APERTURE

“Nasser Road is exciting in both its content and presentation. The photobook is a deep dive into the layers that underlie a complex social phenomenon, its archive of bright posters providing an entry point into a range of cultural issues. It’s also an engaging example of extending the definitional boundaries of the photobook to include printed photographic ephemera, where photography and collage come together in imagery made and circulated for a specific kind of communication.” (Olga Yatskevich)

COLLECTOR DAILY

“For a majority of Ugandans on the street, he continues, these posters, which resonate with the aesthetic deployed by Wakalywood, the local film industry, are above all anti-imperialist symbols that crystallise local frustrations in the name of ‘rejection or resistance to global power structures and hegemonic systems such as colonialism, imperialism and capitalism’.” (Jean-Christophe Servant)

LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE (IN FRENCH)

“The flashy calendars, bundled in the book Nasser Road / Political Posters in Uganda, are colourful, graphic and wryly humourous. Here, the very figures that so many see as villains are anti-heroes against Western imperialism. The calendars are not an endorsement of violent actions, says compiler Kristof Titeca, but an outlet for frustrations about unfair power relations in the world.” (Rosa Luna van Crevel)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (IN DUTCH)

“I find this book a treasure trove of awe-inspiring images and a confrontation with the limits of my own political and aesthetic imagination. While reading, I am constantly challenged to reconsider my assumptions about propaganda and the power of images.” (Wilco Versteeg)

TRIGGER (FOMU)

The park has historically been a site of intense poaching by a variety of armed actors, such as cattle-raiders, South Sudanese poachers, the Lord’s Resistance Army, and so on. This project tries to understand the ways in which conservation takes place in this context of conflict, and how conservation actors relate to, and are understood by, the wider population. One of the ways in which it tries to do so is through a forthcoming book project, which analyses these questions through a combination of text and images – mainly contemporary photographs, taken by Leonard Pongo, but also through photo archives (colonial and post-colonial).

The images are below are from Leonard Pongo, and taken during our research in and around Garamba National Park. Important: there are unedited images – work in progress – and cannot be republished as such.

The project is the outcome of the collaboration with a number of actors. First, together with Congolese photographer Georges Senga, I travelled back to photograph the former rebels in their current context. Second, it was a book presenting the above, with a variety of other contributors:  writers Jonathan Littell and Harriet Anena, poet Christine Oryema Lalabo and curator Rein Deslé. Third, it also was an exhibition at FOMU, the Antwerp Photo Museum, developed in close collaboration with curator Rein Deslé. The exhibition took place from 28 June until 6 October 2019 at FOMU, Antwerp’s photography museum.

The exhibition was accompanied by a number of events.

• Moses Rubangangeyo, an ex-LRA member, who featured in a number of the photos, and took some of the photos, gave a guided tour of the exhibition. In doing so, he gave context to the pictures, and his experiences.
• Harriet Anena is a writer and poet from the Acholi region, affected by the conflict. She wrote an essay for the book, but also organised a number of events around the exhibition. She gave a workshop ‘Healing trauma through arts’, and recited her work in the exhibition.

The exhibition travelled to various destinations worldwide, with the support of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which chaired the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict at the United Nations.

• The United Nations Headquarters in New York, in January 2020, where they were visited by His Royal Majesty King Philippe of Belgium and Belgian Foreign Minister Philippe Goffin.
• The United Nations Office in Geneva, where it was on display in the Palais De Nations in February-March 2021. The exhibition was opened by the UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba.
• In Addis Abeba (Ethiopia), were the exhibition was on display in February-March 2021.
• In Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo)., where Rebel Lives was on display at Texaf Bilombo in March-April 2021
• Cultuur Centrum De Steiger, Menen, from 12 November until 19 December 2021.

In March 2021, the project was launched as a virtual exhibition, which can be viewed here.

The project won the 2020 Year Price ‘Science Communication‘ of the Royal Flemisch Academy of Belgium for Science and Art.

Press on the book and exhibition in the Economist, the Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique (one of the ‘Books of the Month’), the Smithsonian Magazine, the Conversation, Africa in the Photobook, NRC, Volkskrant, Knack, Klara, VRT, VPRO, De Standaard, De Morgen, Radio 1/Interne Keuken.

“Disturbingly haunting and banally quotidian at the same time. Based on meticulous research and astute writing, with beautiful poems and remarkable follow-up photos, Rebel Lives unveils a layer of humanity that makes the rebels’ own photos worth understanding in the first place. It is a most important historical document.”

Sverker Finnström, author of award-winning Living with Bad Surroundings: War, History, and Everyday Moments in Northern Uganda

“This is a remarkable book. Using the numerous photographs taken by people recruited into the Lord’s Resistance Army, and linking these to more recent images and testimonies, it succeeds in bringing the contradictions and complexities of their experiences to life. The shocking violence of the LRA is not hidden, but the humanity of those involved and those forced to participate is foregrounded in a compelling way. There is nothing like it in the substantial literature on the LRA, and I am not sure there is anything like it for other conflict zones either. It is a unique and substantial contribution, which makes us recognise that demonized and condemned groups, from ISIS to FARC, are made up of real people, drawn into extreme circumstances.”

Professor Tim Allen, Director of the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa, London School of Economics

Titeca, Kristof (eds.) (2023) Nasser Road. Political Posters in Uganda. Breda: Eriskay Connection.

With photographs by Badru Katumba, Zahara Abdul and Kristof Titeca; and text by Kristof Titeca and Yusuf Serunkuma. 

“The material choices add a clever touch to an already fantastic book. The cardstock used throughout the book structures and presents the content perfectly, creating a uniquely supportive platform for Titeca’s research.” (Alex Lin)

APERTURE

“Nasser Road is exciting in both its content and presentation. The photobook is a deep dive into the layers that underlie a complex social phenomenon, its archive of bright posters providing an entry point into a range of cultural issues. It’s also an engaging example of extending the definitional boundaries of the photobook to include printed photographic ephemera, where photography and collage come together in imagery made and circulated for a specific kind of communication.” (Olga Yatskevich)

COLLECTOR DAILY

“For a majority of Ugandans on the street, he continues, these posters, which resonate with the aesthetic deployed by Wakalywood, the local film industry, are above all anti-imperialist symbols that crystallise local frustrations in the name of ‘rejection or resistance to global power structures and hegemonic systems such as colonialism, imperialism and capitalism’.” (Jean-Christophe Servant)

LE MONDE DIPLOMATIQUE (IN FRENCH)

“The flashy calendars, bundled in the book Nasser Road / Political Posters in Uganda, are colourful, graphic and wryly humourous. Here, the very figures that so many see as villains are anti-heroes against Western imperialism. The calendars are not an endorsement of violent actions, says compiler Kristof Titeca, but an outlet for frustrations about unfair power relations in the world.” (Rosa Luna van Crevel)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL (IN DUTCH)

“I find this book a treasure trove of awe-inspiring images and a confrontation with the limits of my own political and aesthetic imagination. While reading, I am constantly challenged to reconsider my assumptions about propaganda and the power of images.”

WILCO VERSTEEG IN TRIGGER (FOMU)

Titeca, Kristof (2019) Rebel Lives. Photographs from inside the Lord’s Resistance Army. Hannibal Books and FOMU, 288 pp.

With contemporary photographs from Georges Senga, and additional text contributions from Jonathan Littell, Harriet Anena, Rein Deslé, and Christine Oryema Lalobo.

Rebel Lives is a visual story about life inside the LRA: based on photographs taken by LRA commanders between 1994 and 2004, this book documents life within violent circumstances, and depicts the rebels as they wanted to be seen among themselves and by the outside world.

Kristof Titeca, Associate Professor in Development Studies at the University of Antwerp and expert on the LRA, collected this material, and used it to trace the photographed (former) rebels. Together with Congolese photographer Georges Senga, he travelled back to photograph the former rebels in their current context.

“Disturbingly haunting and banally quotidian at the same time. Based on meticulous research and astute writing, with beautiful poems and remarkable follow-up photos, Rebel Lives unveils a layer of humanity that makes the rebels’ own photos worth understanding in the first place. It is a most important historical document.”

Sverker Finnström, author of award-winning Living with Bad Surroundings: War, History, and Everyday Moments in Northern Uganda

“This is a remarkable book. Using the numerous photographs taken by people recruited into the Lord’s Resistance Army, and linking these to more recent images and testimonies, it succeeds in bringing the contradictions and complexities of their experiences to life. The shocking violence of the LRA is not hidden, but the humanity of those involved and those forced to participate is foregrounded in a compelling way. There is nothing like it in the substantial literature on the LRA, and I am not sure there is anything like it for other conflict zones either. It is a unique and substantial contribution, which makes us recognise that demonized and condemned groups, from ISIS to FARC, are made up of real people, drawn into extreme circumstances.”

Professor Tim Allen, Director of the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa, London School of Economics

The book also was an exhibition (see here LINK). Press on the book and exhibition in the Economist, the Washington Post, Le Monde Diplomatique (one of the ‘Books of the Month’), the Smithsonian Magazine, the Conversation, Africa in the Photobook, NRC, Volkskrant, Knack, Klara, VRT, VPRO, De Standaard, De Morgen, Radio 1/Interne Keuken.

De Herdt, Tom and Kristof Titeca (eds.) (2019) Negotiating Public Services in the Congo. London: Zed Books. 

With contributions from Stylianos Moshonas, Stéphanie Perazzone, Camilla Lindstrom, Jean-Pierre Mpiana Tshitenge, Michel Thill, Albert Malukisa, Randi Solhjell, Aymar Nyenyezi Bisoka and Klara Claessens

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been widely derided as a failed state, unable to meet the basic needs of its citizens. But while state infrastructure continues to decay, many essential services continue to be provided at the local level, often through grassroots initiatives. So while, for example, state funding for education is almost non-existent, average school enrolment remains well above average for Sub-Saharan Africa.

This book addresses this paradox, bringing together key scholars working on public services in the DRC to elucidate the evolving nature of governance in developing countries. Its contributions encompass a wide range of public services, including education, justice, transport, and health. Taking stock of what functions and why, it contributes to the debate on public services in the context of ‘real’ or ‘hybrid’ governance beyond the state: does the state still have a function, or is it no longer useful and relevant? Crucially, how does international aid help or complicate this picture?

We summarized our main argument for The Conversation (25/09/19) and Democracy in Africa (31/01/20). A review in the Washington Post describes it as a ‘smart and compelling read’.

Do not hesitate to contact me for a copy of any of these articles.

Kristof Titeca (2023) ‘Russian influence, anti-Western sentiments and African agency: The struggle for influence in the Democratic Republic of Congo‘ The Strategic Review for Southern Africa, 45(1).

Kristof Titeca (2022) Who depends on whom? Uganda’s refugee ‘success story’, corruption and the international community, Third World Quarterly, 43(1), 55–73

Kristof Titeca, Patrick Edmond, Gauthier Marchais, Esther Marijnen (2019) ‘Conservation as a social contract in a violent frontier: The case of (Anti-) poaching in Garamba National Park, eastern DR Congo’ (2020) Political Geography 78; Online First.

Titeca, Kristof and Patrick Edmond (2019) ‘Outside the Frame: Looking Beyond the Myth of Garamba’s LRA’s Ivory–Terrorism Nexus’ Conservation and Society. Online First.

Gandrup, Tobias, Titeca, Kristof (2019) ‘Reproducing the state? Organising primary education between state and non-state actors in Somaliland’, Journal of Eastern African Studies 13(4): 642-660

Titeca, K. and Edmond, P. (2019) ‘The political economy of oil in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Corruption and regime control’, The Extractive Industries and Society, Online first.

Edmond, P., Titeca, K. & E. Kennes (2019) ‘The DRC–Angola Offshore Oil Dispute: How Regime (In)Security Outweighs Sovereign Claims’ Journal of Southern African Studies, 45:5, 841-857

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Understanding the illegal ivory trade and traders: evidence from Uganda’, International Affairs, 94:5, pp.1077-1099

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Illegal ivory trade as transnational organized crime? An empirical study into ivory traders in Uganda’, British Journal of Criminology Online first.

Reuss, Anna and Kristof Titeca (2017) ‘When revolutionaries grow old: the Museveni babies and the slow death of the liberation in Uganda’, Third World Quarterly, 38(10): 2347-2366.

Reuss, Anna and Kristof Titeca (2017) “Beyond ethnicity: the violence in Western Uganda and Rwenzori’s 99 problems”, Review of African Political Economy, 44 (151): 131-141.

Titeca, Kristof and Daniel Fahey (2016) “The many faces of a rebel group: the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the Democratic Republic of Congo” International Affairs 92: 5 (2016) 1189–1206.

De Herdt, T., Titeca, K. (2016) “Governance with empty pockets: the education sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo” Development and Change 47 (3): 472-494

Twijnstra, Rens and Kristof Titeca (2016) ‘Everything changes to remain the same? State and tax reform in South Sudan’ The Journal of Modern African Studies, 54 (2): 263-292.

Titeca, Kristof, Costeur, Théophile (2015) ‘An LRA for everyone. How different actors frame their own Lord’s Resistance Army’. African Affairs. 114 (454): 92-114.

Rens Twijnstra, Dorothea Hilhorst & Kristof Titeca (2014) ‘Trade networks and the practical norms of taxation at a border crossing between South Sudan and Northern Uganda’ Journal of Eastern African Studies, 8:3, 382-399

Titeca, K., Flynn, R. (2014) ‘Hybrid Governance’, legitimacy and (il)legality in the informal cross-border trade in Panyimur, north-west Uganda’ African Studies Review. 57 (1): 71-91

Titeca, K., De Herdt, T. and Wagemakers, I. (2013) ‘God and Caesar in the Democratic Republic of Congo: negotiating church-state relations through the management of school fees in Kinshasa’s Catholic schools’ Review of African Political Economy , 40 (135), March 2013: 115–130

Vervisch, T., Titeca, K., Braeckman, J., Vlassenroot, K. (2013) ‘Social Capital and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Burundi: the limits of community-based reconstruction’ Development and Change, 44(1): 147-174.

Schomerus, M., Titeca, K. (2012) ‘Deals and Dealings: Inconclusive peace and treacherous trade along the South Sudan-Uganda border’ Afrika Spectrum, 47(2): 5-31.

De Herdt, T., Titeca, K., Wagemaekers, I., (2012) ‘Make schools, not war? Donors’ rewriting of the social contract in the DRC.’ Development Policy Review, 30(6): 681-701.

Titeca, K., Vlassenroot, K. (2012) ‘Rebels without borders in the Rwenzori borderland? A biography of the Allied Democratic Forces’ Journal of Eastern African Studies 6(1): 154-176.

Titeca, K. (2012) ‘Tycoons and contraband: informal cross-border trade in West Nile, north-western Uganda’ Journal of Eastern African Studies 6(1): 47-63.

Goodfellow, T., Titeca, K. (2012) ‘Presidential intervention and the changing ‘politics of survival’ in Kampala’s informal economy’ Cities 29(4): 264 – 270.

Titeca, K., De Herdt, T. (2011) ‘Real governance beyond the “failed state in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)‘ African Affairs 110(439):213-231.

Titeca, K., (2011) Access to Resources and Predictability in Armed Rebellion: The ‘Force Armée du Peuple Congolais’ Short-lived ‘Monaco’ in Eastern Congo . Afrika Spectrum, 2/2011: 43-70.

Titeca, K., Joossens, L, Raw, M. (2011) ‘Cigarette smuggling and war economies in central and eastern Africa’ Tobacco Control 20(3): 226-232.

Titeca, K., De Herdt, T. (2010) ‘Regulation, cross-border trade and practical norms in West Nile, north-western Uganda ‘Africa 80(4): 573-594.

Vervisch, T., Titeca, K. (2010) Bridging community associations in post-conflict Burundi: the difficult merging of social capital endowments and new ‘institutional settings’ Journal of Modern African Studies 48(3): 485-511.

Titeca, K. (2009) ‘The ‘Masai’ and Miraa: public authority, vigilance and criminality in a Ugandan border town‘ Journal of Modern African Studies 47(2): 219- 317.

Titeca, K. and Prinsen, G. (2008) ‘Uganda’s decentralized primary education: musical chairs and inverted elite capture in school management committees’ Public Administration and Development 28 (2): 149-164.

Titeca, K., Vervisch, T. (2008) ‘The dynamics of social capital and community associations in Uganda: linking capital and its consequences’. World Development 36 (11): 2205-2222.

Adam, J., De Cordier, B., Titeca, K. and Vlassenroot, K. (2007) In the Name of the Father?’ Christian Militantism in Northern Uganda, Tripura (India) and Ambon (Indonesia),Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 30:1–21.

Titeca, K. (2006) ‘Les OPEC boys en Ouganda, trafiquants de pétrole et acteurs politiques’ (The OPEC Boys in Uganda : petrol smugglers and political actors) Politique Africaine, n°103 : 143-159.

Titeca, Kristof (2021) ‘Smuggling as a legitimate activity? The OPEC Boys as social bandits in Northern Uganda’, in: Gallien, M. & F. Weigand (eds). The Routledge Handbook of Smuggling. London: Routledge.

Edmond, Patrick and Kristof Titeca (2019) ‘Corporate social responsibility and patronage: effects on popular mobilisation in DRC’s oilfields, Muanda’ in: S. Geenen, A. Nyenyezi Bisoka, & A. Ansoms (Eds.), Conjonctures de l’Afrique centrale, 2019, Paris/Bruxelles: L’Harmattan/MRAC, pp127-156.

Titeca, Kristof (2019) ‘Decentralisation and regime control in Uganda‘, in: Wiegratz, Joerg, Martinello, Giuliano, Greco, Elisa (eds.) The making of neoliberal Uganda: The political economy of state and capital after 1986. Zed Books.

Doornbos, M., Syahuku, A., Titeca, K. (2018) ‘The Rwenzururu kinship question and its aftermath’. In: Doornbos, M. The Rwenzururu Movement in Uganda. Struggling for Recognition. New York, Routledge: 187-210.

Huylebroeck, Lisa and Kristof Titeca (2015) ‘Universal Secondary Education (USE) in Uganda: blessing or curse? The impact of USE on educational attainment and performance’ in: Filip Reyntjens, Stef Vandeginste and Marijke Verpoorten (eds). L’Afrique des Grands Lacs: Annuaire 2014-2015. Antwerp: Antwerp University Press, pp.349-372

Titeca, Kristof (2014) ‘The Commercialization of Uganda’s 2011 Election in the Urban Informal Economy: Money, Boda-Bodas and Market Vendors’, in: Perrot, Sandrine; Makara, Sabiti; Lafargue, Jerome; Fouéré, Marie-Aude (eds.) Elections in a hybrid regime. Revisiting the 2011 polls. Kampala: Fountain publishers, pp.178-207.

Titeca, K. (2013 ) ‘A historical perspective on state engagement in informal trade on the Uganda-Congolese border’ in: Bridenthal, R. The hidden history of crime, corruption and states. New York: Berghan Books.

Titeca, K., Onyango, P. (2012) ‘The carrot and the stick: the unlevel playing field in Uganda’s 2011 elections’. in: Reyntjens, F., Vandeginste, S., Verpoorten, M. (eds.) L’Afrique des Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2010-2011. Paris: L’Harmattan, pp. 111-130.

Bareebe, G., Titeca, K., Verpoorten, M. (2012 ) ‘Simplified campaign narratives on civil war: case study of “Kony 2012”’: in Reyntjens, F., Vandeginste, S., Verpoorten, M. (eds.) L’Afrique des Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2010-2011. Paris: L’Harmattan, pp.131-156.

Titeca, K. (2011) ‘The impact of war and peace on the border town of Arua, Uganda’. In: Bouvier, J. (ed.) Poverty in medium and small cities of developing countries. Brussel, Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen: 179-188.

Titeca, K. (2010 ) ‘The spiritual order of the Lord’s Resistance Army‘ in: Allen, T., Vlassenroot, K. The Lord’s Resistance Army: Myth and Reality. London: Zed Books, 59-73.

Titeca, K. (2010) ‘Pouvoir et commerce: l’Ouganda et le commerce transfrontralier avec la RDC et le Soudan‘, in: Marysse, S., Reyntjens, F. et S. Vandeginste (eds.) L’Afrique des Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2009-2010. Paris: L’Harmattan, 371-404.

De Herdt, T., Titeca, K. & I. Wagemakers (2010) ‘Aider l’état à délivrer le dividende de paix: le cas de l’éducation en RDC’, in: Marysse, S., Reyntjens, F. et S. Vandeginste (eds.) L’Afrique des Grands Lacs. Annuaire 2009-2010. Paris: L’Harmattan, 151-174

Titeca, Kristof (2020). Informal cross-border trade along the Uganda-DRC Border.UNDP United Nations Development Programme, Policy Brief Series, No 2.

Titeca, K. and A. Malukisa Nkuku (2019) ‘Urban governance through personal connections: Kinshasa and its unlawful constructions’.  Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium working paper 66

Edmond, Patrick and Kristof Titeca (2018) ‘Chicken now, not eggs later: short-termism, underdevelopment and regime stabilisation in the DRC’s oil governance’, IOB Discussion Paper 2018.1

Edmond, P. and Titeca, K. (2018): ‘What good is an oil sector without oil? How regime security and shorttermism explains DR Congo’s (non-) oil sector’. IOB Analysis and Policy Brief 26

Malukisa Nkuku, Albert and Kristof Titeca (2018) ‘Market governance in Kinshasa: the competition for informal revenue through ‘connections’ (branchement). IOB Working Paper 2018.03

Titeca, Kristof (2017) ‘L’Armée de Résistance du Seigneur: une brève histoire’, in: ‘Wrong Elements. Un film de Jonathan Lidell.’ Edition Livre-DVD, Le Pacte/ Editions Blaq Out, pp. 62-85.

Titeca, Kristof (2016) “Haut-Uele: Justice and Security Mechanisms in Times of Conflict and Isolation” Justice and Security Research Program Paper 32, London: London School of Economics and Political Sciences.

Syahuka-Muhindo, A. and K. Titeca (2016) “The Rwenzururu Movement and the struggle for the Rwenzururu kingdom in Uganda“, IOB Discussion Papers, 2016 (01), Antwerp, Institute of Development Policy and Management.

Meagher, K. De Herdt, T., Titeca, K (2014). “Unravelling public authority. Paths of hybrid governance in Africa”. IS Academy Research Brief 10, March 2014

Titeca, K. (with C. Kimanuka) (2012) ‘Walking in the dark. Informal cross-border trade in the Great Lakes Region’. London: International Alert, 49p.

Titeca, K. (with C. Kimanuka) (2012) ‘Marcher dans l’obscurité: le commerce informel transfrontalier dans la region des Grands Lacs’. London : International Alert, 56p.

Titeca, K., Nlandu, H. (2010) ‘L’école au Bandundu: bricole entre le village, les églises et l’état’ in : De Herdt, T. (ed.)  Enjeux et acteurs autour de la réduction des frais scolaires en RDC : rapport final DFID, 2010, pp. 108-125

Titeca K., Kitshiaba J.-M. (2010) ’Négocier l’enseignement à Kikwit  ’ in : De Herdt, T. (ed.)  Enjeux et acteurs autour de la réduction des frais scolaires en RDC : rapport final DFID, pp. 92-107.

Titeca, K. (2009) “The changing Cross-border Trade Dynamics between North-western Uganda, North-eastern Congo and Southern Sudan”, Crisis States Working Paper 63 series 2, London School of Economics and Political Science,Crisis States Research Centre, London, 25p.

Lecoutere, E., Titeca, K. (2007) ‘The OPEC boys and the political economy of smuggling in northern Uganda’. Household in Conflict Network Working Paper, 36, 41p.

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.

“Total Success”? The real goals of Uganda’s Operation Shujaa in DRC, African Arguments, 20 June 2022

The ‘Muhoozi Project’ in Uganda: Testing the water or preparing the ground?, Democracy in Africa, 27 May 2022; republished in The Independent 

The cynical realpolitik of the War on Terror : Uganda 2021 edition, in African Arguments (29.11.21), with Eric Mwine-Mugaji.

On Uganda’s attack on the ADF in Congo, quoted by Deutsche Welle (12/07/22), The Economist, France 24, AFP and Deutsche Welle.

After a violent election, Uganda’s government faces three big challenges in the Washington Post (Monkey Cage, 16.02.21), with Anna Reuss.

TV Interviews on the Ugandan elections to Al Jazeera English (17/01 and 19/01/21); Radio interviews on the Ugandan elections on Radio 1 Belgium (04/01/21 and 17/01); Dutch radio VPRO on the Ugandan elections (12/01/21). A range of interview quotes to various papers and outlets on Ugandan politics: De Standaard (30/07/22); De Volkskrant (19/07/22), Le Monde, TV5, The East African, The Citizen, De Standaard, Jeune Afrique, AFP, RFI, The Globe and Mail. Interview in De Volkskrant on Dutch donor aid to Uganda (27/02/21).

Museveni and the West : relationship status: it’s complicated, in African Arguments (07.01.21), with Anna Reuss.

How Museveni mastered violence to win elections in Uganda, in African Arguments (19.11.20), with Anna Reuss. Republished In Danish by Global Nyt; in Spanish by Africafundacion

On RFI  & France 24 about the upcoming Ugandan elections.

This is why Bobi Wine constitutes an unprecedented threat to Museveni, in Democracy in Africa (17.12.20) , with Anna Reuss.

Titeca, K. ‘Verkiezingen in Oeganda: een clash van generaties’, Knack, 01 November 2021.

Titeca, K., Edmond, P., Reuss, A. (2018) ‘Generation gap : what #FreeBobiWine tells us about Ugandan politics’, African Arguments, 23 August 2018.

Interview (quotes) on this in Jeune Afrique (12/09/18); on Al Jazeera English news (23/08/18);  on Radio 1 Belgium, De Wereld Vandaag (23/08/18); on  Dutch Radio Bureau Buitenland, VPRO (21/09/18).

Beevor Eleanor, Titeca Kristof ‘Troubling times for the Rwenzururu kingdom in Western Uganda’, Africa at LSE, 29 August 2018.

Schiltz Julie, Titeca Kristof (2017) ‘Is Uganda really a paradise for refugees? The grim reality behind the euphoric coverage of Uganda’s “exemplary” refugee policy’, Al Jazeera, 29 July 2017

Titeca Kristof, Ashaba Ivan ‘Museveni: the next ‘benevolent’ President for life?’ Open Democracy, 18 October 2017.

Reuss Anna, Titeca Kristof (2017) ‘Removing the presidential age limit in Uganda : the power of cash and coercion’, Open Democracy, 07 August 2017.

Museveni got more votes than love in Uganda’s election, The Washington Post / The Monkey Cage, 20 February 2016, with Anna Reus.

Titeca Kristof, Reuss Anna ‘Uganda : why the unrest in Rwenzori is far from over’, African arguments , 4 July 2017.

Titeca Kristof (2014) ‘Uganda’s anti-homosexuality bill : looking beyond a single explanation’, African Arguments, 07 March 2014.

Titeca, K. ‘The fog of war (crimes trials): the politics of epistemology in the Dominic Ongwen Trial’, 03 February 2021.

TV interviews on the ICC Dominic Ongwen trial (verdict) at  Al Jazeera English (04/02/21 and 05/02/21); Radio interview on NPO/Dutch Radio; and on justice.info.

Ronan, P., Titeca, K. (2020) ‘Kony’s rebels remain a threat, but they’re also selling honey to get by’, African Arguments, 03 October 2020. Republished in The New Vision.

Quoted in The New Humanitarian on continued activities by the LRA; In the podcast ‘Finding Humanity’ on the use of child soldiers by the LRA.

Titeca, Kristof (2020) ‘When bad reporting mirrors the thing it wants to criticize’ Africa is a country, 14 January 2020.  Republished in Mail & Guardian. On the documentary “American Crusade in Africa / Cruisade Americaine en Afrique”

Titeca, K. (2019) ‘I testified at the trial of one of Joseph Kony’s commanders : here’s what the court didn’t understand’, The Washington Post, Monkey Cage, 17 January 2019. An extended version of the piece at Africa at LSE (‘Spirits on trial? The case of Dominic Ongwen in the International Criminal Court’), and reposted at Duncan Greens’ ‘From Poverty to Power’ blog.

Titeca, K (2019) ‘Photographs reveal the personal lives of the Lord’s Resistance Army’, The Conversation, 12 December 2019. Republished by the Performing Violence blog (22/10/20).

Titeca, K. (2019) ‘Simplification et plus de simplification : Kony 2012 et “Croisade américaine en Afrique” ‘, Libération, 1 December 2019.

Cakaj Ledio, Titeca Kristof (2017) ‘Bye-bye, Kony? The Lord’s Resistance Army after the U.S.-Ugandan withdrawal’, Foreign affairs, 31 May 2017.

Titeca, Kristof, Sebastian, Matthew (2014) “Why did Invisible Children dissolve ?”, The Washington Post, 30 December 2014.

Titeca Kristof, Atkinson Ronald R. (2014), ‘Why is the US hunting for Joseph Kony?’, Al Jazeera, 11 May 2014.

Titeca Kristof (2013) “Ivory beyond the LRA : why a broader focus is needed in studying poaching”, African Arguments, 17 September 2013.

Titeca, Kristof (2013) “The (LRA) conflict : beyond the LRA lobby & the hunt for Kony… and towards civilian protection”, African Arguments, 17 May 2013.

Our recent research on unofficial revenue collection by the Congo Traffic Police was reported on by AFP (14/07/22).

Edmond Patrick, Titeca Kristof, Kennes Erik (2019) “Angola’s oil could actually be the DR Congo’s : here’s why it isn’t”, African Arguments, 03 October 2019.

Quoted in Le Monde in a longread on conservation in zones of war.

Edmond Patrick, Titeca Kristof (2019) ‘Kleptocracies like to plunder oil wealth, but in DR Congo it’s an under-developed bargaining chip’, Quartz Africa, 08 March 2019.

Titeca, K., Thamani, J. (2018) ‘DRC elections : Kabila’s perfectly imperfect choice of successor’, African arguments, 15 November 2018.  Republished in MediaCongo (18/11/18).

Titeca Kristof, Malukisa Nkuku Albert (2018) “How Kinshasa’s markets are captured by powerful private interests”, The Conversation, 03 November 2018.

Titeca Kristof, Thamani James (2018) ‘How to get ahead in DR Congo politics : a flatterer’s guide’, African Arguments, 18 December 2018.

Geenen Sara, Titeca Kristof (2018) « Les dégâts d’un incroyable “faux tribunal” en RDC », La Libre, 04 May 2018

Titeca Kristof ‘Uitgestelde verkiezing van een Kabila 2.0’, De tijd, 21 December 2018.

Edmond Patrick, Titeca Kristof (2018) ‘Why Congo’s decision to open national parks to drilling isn’t really about oil’, African arguments, 13 July 2018. Interview on this theme to L’Humanité.

Moshonas Stylianos, De Herdt Tom, Titeca Kristof (2017) ‘DR Congo : the case for taking the administration seriously’, Africa at LSE, 20 December 2012

Titeca, K., Anguyo, I. (2021) ‘How COVID-19 affected informal cross-border trade between Uganda and DRC’, 24 May 2021. Republished in The Independent Uganda.

Titeca Kristof (2018) “I did the first long-term study investigating illegal ivory traders : here’s what I learned”, The Washington Post, 18 March 2018.

On illegal ivory trade, in 2018: In Interne Keuken, Radio 1 (België); op Bureau Buitenland, Radio 1 (Nederland); on Undercurrents, the podcast of Chatham House.

Titeca, Kristof (2018) ‘Local links across Africa provide key clues to fighting the illegal ivory trade’,  The conversation, 03 May 2018.

Titeca Kristof (2018) ‘Understanding the role of ivory traders by leaving the ivory tower : the value of ethnography’, The Oxford Martin Programme on the Illegal Wildlife Trade : trading ideas, 27 July 2018.

Malukisa, A., Titeca, K. ‘Congolese klokkenluiders hebben onze steun nodig’, De Standaard, 25 November 2021.

Titeca Kristof, Malukisa Nkuku Albert, De Herdt Tom (2020), ‘Herstelbetalingen, maar aan wie?’, De standaard, 07 August 2020. In French in La Libre

Titeca, Kristof (2019) ‘Het tere punt dat de klimaatmeisjes raken’, De Standaard, 19 Augustus 2019.

Titeca Kristof ‘Want to understand Belgium’s complicated politics and scandals? Let’s look at Africa’ The Washington post, 10 July 2017. Republished in De Morgen (12/07/17); extended version for Open democracy (7/10/17). The piece received attention in De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad, Le Soir, RTBF, La Libre, Metro, Bruzz, L’echo, Dernière Heure, Sudinfo, Newsmonkey.

Various

Verbrugge Boris, Titeca, Kristof (2019) Goede werk­omstandigheden zijn goud waard, De standaard, 02 Mei 2019.

Gandrup, T., Titeca, K. ‘How schools are kept afloat in Somaliland’, The Conversation, 11 August 2019.

Titeca Kristof, Ashaba Ivan (2018) ‘Nee, Afrika stort niet ineen zonder corruptie’, De Standaard, 24 September 2018.

Geenen Sara, Titeca Kristof (2018) “Ook politiek theater heeft spelregels”, De standaard, 02 Mei 2018.

Geenen Sara, Titeca Kristof, Musamba Josaphat, Vogel Christoph (2018) ‘The ethics of political art’, Africa is a country – (2018.09.14)

Political ecology of forest resource management: the missing link.

A  project financed by VLIR-UOS, in collaboration with the University of Kisangani, and the University of Bukavu, in the DRC. Together with Fergus Simpson (UAntwerp), Papy Bambu (Kisangani) and Espoir Bisamwa (Bukavu)

In a context of increasing deforestation and forest reform policies in the Democratic Republic of Congo, this project aims to understand the political and socio-economic aspects of forest resource use and deforestation. Through this political ecology approach, an increased collaboration will be established between three academic institutions (UNIKIS, ISDR-Bukavu and IOB) and two civil society organizations (Tropenbos DRC and Africapacity). This project is part of a research-action approach aimed at strengthening the voices and participation of local and indigenous people in these forest reform processes, and to contribute to better environmental and social justice.

Making refugee integration sustainable: in search of durable relations with host populations in Uganda

A project (2019-2024) financed by VLIR-UOS in collaboration with Mbarara University, Uganda. Together with Frank T. Ahimbisibwe (Mbarara) Tom Ogwang, and Cleophas Karooma (Mbarara).

A sustainable relationship between host and refugees is essential to guarantee the social and political stability of countries and regions. Uganda is known to be hosting one of the largest refugee populations in the world. This project aims to contribute to a better understanding and facilitate policy interventions that can ameliorate social relations between hosts and refugees. This will be done by (1) developing innovative research approaches studying conflict trajectories (escalation vs. mediation); (2) structurally improve and strengthen the research capabilities (e.g. methodological skills) at Ugandan partner institution (students, PhDs and staff mem-bers); (3) propel the Southern Partner (MUST) and its staff into a recognized leader regarding high quality re-search on forced displacement; (4) translate findings to policy makers throughh participation of international and national NGOs and Ugandan authorities (national/local).

Enhancing knowledge and policy action for the conservation of biocultural diversity in the DRC

This project is a collaboration with Université de Kisangani (UNIKIS), DRC; National Institute for the Study of Agricultural Research (INERA). Funded by CIFOR-RESSAC. Together with Fergus Simpson (UA) and Prof. Papy Bambu (UNIKIS).

This research aims to develop a biocultural paradigm – that links biological and cultural systems – for conservation research and policy in the DRC’s rainforest that is sensitive to a) cultural diversity and inequities within communities (particularly in relation to gender relations) as well as b) connections between communities and broader political and economic structures/forces.

Past projects:

• Project on public services and local governance, in collaboration with the Catholic University of Congo (UCC), Kinshasa (August 2010 – April 2014). This project did finance PhD projects on the subject of local governance and public services in Congo, research projects and conferences.
• Project on Governance and post-conflict reconstruction in Northern Uganda, in collaboration with Gulu University (October 2013 – September 2018). This projects did finance PhD projects on this subject, as well as field research, publications and conferences. More information about the opening event can be found at this blog post.
• Project on Urban governance in Uganda: a research partnership, in collaboration with Uganda Christian University (November 2013 – October 2015). This project was an explorative research partnership on the subject of urban governance in Kampala and Gulu.

2017-2021: I was an expert witness at the International Criminal Court, in the trial of ex-LRA commander Dominic Ongwen. In this position, I wrote a series of expert reports on the role of  spirituality and traditional religion in the LRA; and testified in the trial on this issue. You can read about my experience in this article in the Washington Post and in this blog post.

2020: I wrote a policy brief for the UNDP Africa Borderlands centre on the Informal Cross-border trade between Uganda and the DRC. It can be read here.

2019: I was an academic (review) expert for UNODC, for the World Wildlife Crime Report.

2017-2018: I was the research coordinator for Antwerp University (with Tom De Herdt) of the Power, Poverty, Politics Research Program in DRC, of the Secure Research Livelihoods Research Consortium, based at the Overseas Development Institute (London), in collaboration with the UK Department of International Development (DFID) – DRC (1 January 2017- 31 December 2018).

2013: I was lead researcher for a study on the ‘Lord’s Resistance Army study in Province Orientale, DR Congo’, for the Norwegian Refugee Council/Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre. In collaboration with the Justice and Security Research Programme (London school of Economics), Haut/Bas Uélé, DR Congo, July-August 2013. Together with Koen Vlassenroot (Ugent) and Tim Allen (LSE).

2012: I conducted research for International Alert small-scale cross-border trade in the Great Lakes region, which resulted into the publication ‘Walking in the Dark’

2011: Research on the 2011 elections in Uganda for the ‘Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique’ (IFRA) on ‘the 2011 elections in Uganda’, which resulted in the book chapter Commercialization  of  Uganda’s  2011 Election  in  the  Urban  Informal  Economy:  Money,  Boda-Bodas and  Market

2010: Background paper for UNESCO’s ‘Education for all Global Monitoring Report 2011’ on ‘Making investment in education part of the peace dividend in the DRC’ (together with Tom De Herdt and Inge Wagemakers).

2010: Policy report for the ‘Vereniging voor Nederlandse Gemeenten’ on ‘urban governance and the informal economy in Kampala’.

2009: Consultancy for the Department of International Development (DFID) on ‘primary education in the Democratic Republic of Congo’.

2008: Research for the Crisis States Program (LSE) on cross-border trade in West Nile; and city dynamics in Arua. This resulted in the paper ‘The Changing Cross-Border Dynamics between north-western Uganda, north-eastern Congo and southern Sudan’.

Memberships:

• expert for the Global Initiative against Transational Organised Crime.
• Member of the FWO review college.
• member of the editorial board of the Canadian Journal of African Studies.
• At the University of Antwerp, member of a variety of commissions, such as the Ethics Committee for Social Sciences and Humanities
• member of the general council of Africalia
• Member of the Africa Borderlands Research Network, and the Africa Studies Association

Ongoing:

Roos Derrix ‘The multi-levelled politics of national refugee policies: A case study of Uganda.’

Baudouin Mena Sebu ‘Power, Spirituality, and the Resurgence of Customary Authority in Haut-Uélé, DR Congo’. Co-Supervisor: Vicky Van Bockhaven (UGent).

Olivier Bahati, ‘Civil Servants’ payment and recruitment in donor darling sectors: the case of the ministries of environment and planning in the DRC’. Principal Supervisor: Tom De Herdt.

Samuel Opono: ‘Ecological indigenous knowledge and natural resource governance: the case studies of Nakivale and Rhino camp refugee settlements in Uganda’. Co-supervisors: Frank Ahimbisibwe and Specioza Twinamasiko (Mbarara University of Science and Technology)

Defended:

Eliane Giezendanner ‘Beyond Ex-Combatant Identity. Self-understanding, Identification and Groupness after War. A Case Study on Ex-Combatants in Burundi’. Defended on 25/03/2025. 

Ivan Ashaba, ‘Environmental crime as transnational organized crime: a case of wildlife trade in Uganda’, Co-supervisor: Esther Marijnen (UWageningen). Defended on 08/07/2024.

Aloysius Ssennyonjo ‘Coordination of Multisectoral Action for Health in Uganda: Mechanisms, Actor Experiences, Motivations and Implications for Policy and Practice’. Principal Supervisors: Sara Van Belle and Bart Criel (both Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp). Defended on 25/03/2024.

Vancluysen Sarah ‘Towards a sustainable refugee-host relationship. Case study on South-Sudanese refugees in Uganda’, Principal Supervisor: Bert Ingelaere. Defended on 30/11/2021.

Tobias Gandrup ‘Making schools: primary education, governance and the state in Somaliland’ Co-supervisor: Tom De Herdt. PhD in Development Studies, IOB. Defended on 23/10/2020

Anna Reuss ‘Politicization, professionalization and personalisation of the Uganda People’s Defence Forces: The military and the pursuit of stability in an ageing post-revolutionary regime’. Joint PhD with Ghent University. PhD in Development Studies/ Political Sciences. Joint supervision with Koen Vlassenroot. Defended on 09/10/2018

Albert Malukisa Nkuku ‘La gouvernance réelle du transport en commun à Kinshasa: la prééminence des normes pratiques sur les normes officielles’. Co-supervisor: Tom De Herdt. PhD in Development Studies, IOB. Defended on 16/02/2017

Rens Twijnstra “On the State of Business: Trade, Entrepreneurship and Real Economic Governance in South Sudan”. PhD in the Sociology of Development at the University of Wageningen, Principal supervisor: Thea Hilhorst. Defended on 01/07/2015.

I teach in the three Master programmes at the Institute of Development Policy (IOB) at the University of Antwerp: MA’s on ‘Governance and Development’, ‘Globalisation and Development’, and ‘Development Evaluation and Management’. I teach the following courses in these MA programs:

• ‘Qualitative Research Methods’ and ‘People as informants’ in the Module on Research Methods.

• ‘Theories and Concepts’, ‘Local Governance’, and ‘Access to Natural Resources’ in the Module ‘Local Institutions and Poverty Reduction’.

• ‘Analysis of Violent Conflict’ in the Module ‘From Violence Conflict to Peace and State Reconstruction’.

• I supervise a wide range of end of module papers and dissertations.

Outside of the IOB, I teach in a number of lectures in other courses at the University of Antwerp, in particular in the courses ‘Sustainable Development’, and ‘Topics In Development Studies’.

At Mbarara University (Uganda), I teach a yearly ‘Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods’.