Research Kristof Titeca

Abstract

Refugee policies in the Global South have increasingly become the focus of international interest. However, there is little understanding about how these policies are shaped and managed in these Southern countries. This doctoral project aims to understand how national refugee policies are the outcome of political negotiations between different levels, and what implementation effects this has. Taking the national refugee policy as a vantage point, this project aims to understand the entire policy process of refugee policies at the global, national and local: In what way do these different levels influence each other, and what is the effect on the national and local refugee policy? Thus, this project aims to understand how refugee policies emerge, are negotiated and implemented. This novel approach has not been taken before, and will be done by using a case study: Uganda's refugee policy. The country is seen as a 'success story' in refugee governance: it is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees flagship country for its key-policy, which was implemented in 2017. This project aims to conduct multi-sited field research at different levels: at the global level (New York and Geneva), the national level (Kampala) and the local level (two Ugandan refugee settlements). This will result in a ground-breaking research that provides more insights in the ways in which these different levels impact both on each other, and ultimately, on the quality of refugee policies itself.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: Belloni Milena
• Fellow: Derrix Roos

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project aspires to a scientific revision of contemporary African political cultures, adopting a non-Eurocentric and interdisciplinary approach. Beyond making new in-depth knowledge available to aid and peacebuilding organisations, it seeks to have a direct impact on the well-being of the communities being studied through the method of digital restitution of cultural heritage. The underlying premise is that knowledge of one's cultural history constitutes a cultural capital that is a source of self-esteem and contributes to societal commitment and cohesion. The project is built on a cross-pollination of three complementary strands of research. The first is a political and development science investigation of the resurgence of customary authorities in contemporary DRCongo. This will take seriously the full spectrum of local expressions on the matter, to acquire a better understanding of the region's historically-rooted political culture and its underlying cultural logic. The second consists of research on ritual objects and their provenance, to shed new light on customary authority and to prepare for digital restitutions. The third component will explore the transformative potential of efforts to reconnect historically dispossessed 'source communities' with their material cultural heritage. The digital restitution will be guided by object provenance research, by an assessment of existing digital infrastructures in the region, and by a thorough consultation with (local) stakeholders to determine what is desirable and feasible.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This feasibility study will explore the conditions to implement GOBLAR, a participatory governance and accountability tool at the commune-level in mega-city Kinshasa. GOBLAR is based on WHO's UrbanHEART approach and was developed and implemented in 2020 in two municipalities of Guatemala City. Our objective is to better understand under what conditions this tool and the underlying approach can be adopted and be made to work in Kinshasa (DRC), another challenging urban environment. We will adopt the realist evaluation approach and the case study design. We will collect qualitative and quantitative data through a wide range of methods. The analysis will be based on principles of realist evaluation and lead to a more detailed programme theory underlying GOBLAR. The project is also intended to lead to (1) a full-fledged FWO research project, through which we aim to strengthen local health priority-setting based on a participatory accountability assessment that involves local authorities, civil society organisations, communities and private health providers and (2) a proposal for a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral network focusing on the use(fulness) of public accountability tools in urban public services.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: De Herdt Tom

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Taking dreams seriously, this project aims to articulate alternative ways of 'understanding the world' in conflict-affected environments. Knowledges produced about peace interventions have long been articulated around responses to root causes and symptoms of violence. Increasingly conflict studies acknowledge limitations of peace interventions due to their western-centric logics. Conflict-ridden South Kivu is an emblematic example in which extensive peace interventions had limited success in sustaining peace. Interrogating and nuancing Western articulations, the project will document different ways of experiencing violence and understanding the cosmos (the world). Re-assessing the dreamlife responds to the urgent need to appreciate alternative ways of knowing violence and managing peacebuilding that do not align with dominant peacebuilding approaches. Across time and regions, dreams have been associated with activities such as journeys the mind takes out of the body, communications with the dead, malign desires from a third party, dialogues with the subconscious, and neurological phenomena. The well-known but often neglected fluid, sensorial, bodily, spiritual dimensions of dreams will be mobilized to discuss underlying pluriversalism. Building on feminist and decolonial scholarship, the project is motivated by decolonial aspirations, and is dedicated to theoretical and empirical examinations of pluriversal - rather than universal – cosmovisions of dreams and violence.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Groof Matthias
• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: Van Hecken Gert
• Fellow: Jamar Astrid

Research team(s)

• Visual and Digital Cultures Research Center (ViDi)
• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Since 2001 several thousand Rwandan FDLR rebels (Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda), active in the east of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), have been demobilised and repatriated to Rwanda. The FDLR rebels that emerged in the year 2000 from the Hutu refugee community in DRC are known to foster a strong "Hutu" ideology, rooted in the ideational tradition of pre-genocide Rwanda. It revolves around ethnic antagonism and emphasizes a deeply pronounced Hutu victimisation by the Tutsi. This ideology stands diametrically opposed to the one the current, Tutsi-dominated RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) government under President Paul Kagame has established and imposed in post-genocide Rwanda. By returning to Rwanda, the FDLR members thus not only cross a national border, but an ideological one as well. Our research aims to understand how demobilised and repatriated FDLR members navigate between these "old" and "new" ideational frameworks at work in Rwanda's past and present. We will study whether, how and why the exposure to the "new" ideology has changed – reversed, weakened or reinforced – "old" ideas, beliefs and mindsets. In this way, we aim to contribute to the academic literature on post-genocide Rwanda from a bottom-up perspective; to push the theoretical understanding of the role of ideology in and after violent conflict; and to develop appropriate research approaches and techniques to study the demobilization of mindsets.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Ingelaere Bert
• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Fellow: Giezendanner Eliane

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is a rebel group, notorious for its use of extreme violence and its large-scale abductions of children, who were used as child soldiers or forced 'wives'. The LRA is led by the infamous Joseph Kony and became active in northern Uganda during the second half of the 1980s. Rebel Lives is built on an archive of photographs taken by LRA commanders themselves between 1994 and 2003. The photographs show life within the group and depict the rebels as they want to be seen, both among themselves and by the outside world. The images bear witness to how the abductees tried to live within extremely violent circumstances, but also portray a surprising normality. Rebel Lives tells the story of a conflict where the line between victim and perpetrator is blurred, where people struggle to survive, and where children in particular bear the brunt of this tension. Kristof Titeca, 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 and understand the photographs – a process which took several years. Together with Congolese photographer Georges Senga, he travelled back to photograph the former rebels in their current context.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Despite an emphasis on strengthening the capacity of the public sector as a key policy component of the state-building approach in fragile states, the issue of public sector remunerations has received little attention. This empirical gap extends beyond the policy realm, as the scholarship dealing with African public governance has also remained silent on this issue. Addressing both gaps, this project explores the functioning of the Democratic Republic of Congo's wage bill and payroll system through an analytical framework building on the ethnographic tradition in the study of 'real governance' and 'negotiated statehood', applied to the back office bureaucracy of the central administration. We will focus on analysing the politics behind the allocation and (re)distribution of the wage bill in the DRC, particularly the system of public sector remunerations, both in terms of its composition and its sources. We concentrate on the degrees of differentiation across ministries, departments in five ministries targeted by civil service reform, while also examining the intersection of remunerations with ongoing policy reforms. In so doing, we address the empirical gap within the literature on African governance by providing an in-depth exploration of the system of public sector remunerations and recruitment processes in Congo's central bureaucracy, while also providing insights on the development implications that this system carries for international actors.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Herdt Tom
• Co-promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

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 through participation of international and national NGOs and Ugandan authorities (national/local).

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Ingelaere Bert
• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Promoter: Vancluysen Sarah
• Co-promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

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.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: Windey Catherine

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

To what extent do ruling elites, and the coalitions which support them, influence the governance and development of a particular country? Recently, the 'political settlement' analysis has made important advances in understanding these issues, by specifically looking at how power is organized and distributed in society. This analysis has generated great interest, both in academic and policycircles. This research project wants to add to this literature through the case-study of the Democratic Republic of Congo: first, it wants to provide a concrete methodological tool to analyse these political settlements. This will be done through the establishment of a dataset of the ruling elites in the DRC since the country's independence in 1960. Moreover, through qualitative interviews, the relation between those elites and their wider support base (the 'ruling coalition') will be understood. Second, adding to the political settlement literature, which principally focusses on the national level, this project aims to analyse the multi-leveled nature of these settlements: these are not only determined at the national level, but are in a process of mutual interaction with the local level. In order to understand this, a similar research exercise (dataset and qualitative interviews) will be conducted in two key-provinces. Third, in doing so, this project will determine the main characteristics guiding these political settlements, such as ethnicity, military support base, and so on.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This research project explores whether the concept socio-ecological resilience can further our empirical and conceptual understanding of changes in artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) communities. It has three main objectives that will address gaps in the ASM literature: 1) to improve our understanding of the internal structures, actors and dynamics of ASM communities; 2) to develop a conceptual framework to understand the interacting socio-ecological systems that surround ASM communities, by focusing on key trends transforming ASM; 3) to contribute to the literature on resilience by exploring the relationship between resilience at the community level and at the socio-ecological system level. It will use the conceptual framework of socio-ecological resilience combined with perspectives from political ecology to examine case studies – namely, two different ASM communities in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In doing so, it aims to provide more holistic perspective of the role of ASM as a livelihood strategy. Moreover, the knowledge generated could be used to better inform policies and interventions to mitigate the problems that have for so long afflicted ASM communities. The findings will be published through four articles in high-impact academic journals: one article for each of my three research objectives; and a fourth to discuss the potential for socio-ecological resilience to be combined with perspectives from political ecology.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Geenen Sara
• Co-promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Fellow: Simpson Fergus

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

What is the relation between inequality of access to key political and economic institutions and conflict? Equality does not only manifest itself along economic lines, but also politically, in the distribution of political power. It has been claimed that inequality of access of certain social and political groups can explain patterns of war and peace (Lindemann 2010). Yet, investigating these questions require data in support of these claims. For the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has been affected by cycles of conflict, these data are missing. This project aims to construct a dataset on the inequality of access to key political and economic positions since independence in 1960. More particularly, this project aims to analyse the characteristics of cabinet ministers and board members of parastatals. While similar works have focused on ethnicity as a determinant of inclusion and exclusion in political positions in a number of African countries (e.g. Francois, Rainer & Trebbi, 2015), this project seeks to capture the process of inequality along a wider range of characteristics: linguistic, regional, political-party, gender, and military background. On the basis of these, the relation between political inequality and the presence of war will be studied.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

While there is a wide literature on taxation, this literature is mainly focusing on taxes that end up in the state's coffers, and in doing so is ignoring many other practices of revenue collection. The concept of 'informal taxation' was initially introduced by Prud'homme in 1992, who defined the concept as 'nonformal means utilized to finance the provision of public goods and services' (Prud'homme 1992: 2). Although informal taxation has been receiving increased policy and academic attention in recent years empirical data on the subject are weak to non-existent. The reason for this is straightforward: informal taxes are inherently difficult to document in a systematic manner. This research project aims to fill this gap. By relying on an innovative data collection method, it will collect data of informal taxation practices of the Congolese traffic police. It aims to understand the nature and scale of informal payments in the administration, as well as how the structure of the market affects the level and amount of informal taxes: for examples, how does the nature of intersections affect revenue collection? This project will deploy a range of surveyors to collect these data. Crucial is that i) a pilot project has been conducted to test this methodology (Titeca and Malukisa 2014), and ii) that the project has access to the Congolese police administration to conduct this study. In doing so, the project will both have a major policy and academic impact.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Although oil production in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) already started in the 1960s, production and interest in the resource long remained relatively limited. This changed in the 2000s with a renewed international interest in oil across Africa, sparking exploration and exploitation in the DRC. During this period, a range of multinational companies started activities in the country. Very little is known about these oil explorations, despite potentially serious impacts, including border tensions, local disputes (with potential for expansion), and regional power shifts (ICG 2012). There is a long-recognised link between natural resource abundance and negative political and economic outcomes, a theory generally packaged as the 'resource curse' (Ross 1999). Theorists agree that governance processes are a major determinant of how this 'curse' plays out. While a few policy reports look into the Congolese oil sector (Global Witness 2013, ICG 2012), the underlying governance dynamics, and the risk on conflict, remain poorly understood: no in-depth academic study has been done on this issue. For this reason, this project targets the following questions: What are the political settlements underlying oil governance in DRC? In unpacking oil governance dynamics, this project draws on 'political settlements' theory, looking principally at the informal coalitions underlying the oil governance arrangements. In gaining a better understanding of these governance arrangements, we are able to understand the potential conflict risk of oil explorations. How do these political settlement at the national level translate to the local level, and affect the local population? Deals are made at the national level, but have a profound impact at the local level, where the oil exploitations take place. These 'local' translations have a significant but poorly understood impact, which this research project aims to apprehend. Through these lenses, this project will make a strong empirical contribution to a little understood area with a major impact on DRC's development, and equally make an important contribution to political settlement theory, currently at the centre of international development debates.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This two-year research programme (1 January 2017- 31 December 2018) aims to further understand governance, service delivery and economic growth in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More particularly, it aims to understand policy implementation from national to local levels and generating lessons from what works in promoting positive change, and how to measure change. The research program will do this by tackling a range of sector-specific topics that link closely to the programs of DFID – DRC. Topics are thus chosen for their potential to contribute practical operational knowledge. At the same time, it is the ethos of the individual research projects to also address big cross-cutting questions of governance and state-society relations that might help inform DFID's broader discussions on how to engage in fragile states with weak governance.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: De Herdt Tom

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

When it comes to the topic of sex in the context of war much scholarly and practical concern has been shown for the terrible occurrences of rape. Evocative language describing rape as a "weapon of war" and the female body as a battlefield is now commonplace. Although some scholars note similarities with violence before, during and after conflict, very little is known about the relationship between sex and war—in other words between violent events such as rape or war and "normal" male-female relationships. Much of the work in the area of sex in the context of war is focused either on sexual violence, sexual exploitation, or HIV without putting the analysis into the broader context of sexuality and neglecting the complex interweavings of power, desire, violence and survival; or it is focused on women—particularly as victims and often minimizing or underappreciating female agency even if under seriously constrained circumstances. This post-doctoral project aims to address this gap through an in-depth ethnographic study of the relationship between sex and war in the Acholi sub-region of northern Uganda. Building on research focusing on forced sex from over seven years of fieldwork, the study will illuminate the ways war variously works to continue, exaggerate and/or rupture "normal" social and gendered orderings of Acholi society. This has implications for understanding logics of violence and practical endeavors to prevent or respond to it.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Fellow: Porter Holly

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

How are public services provided in a context of a state which has been affected by enduring conflict and economic downfall? According to the 'failed state' literature, these places are characterized by a vacuum of authority. This is challenged by the literature on 'hybrid governance' which highlights how state actors are only one actor among a wide range of actors providing governance in a certain area: the weakness of the formal state framework does not necessarily create chaos, or a vacuum. By using a hybrid governance perspective, this research project wants to analyse primary education services in Somaliland: Somalia, and the Somaliland region, is considered a typical 'failed state', and although the state is largely absent from public services, education services continue to be provided. However, the hybrid governance perspective largely neglects two crucial aspects: the role of legitimacy and power in these arrangements, as well as the role of international actors. Both of these aspects have a profound impact on the outcome of these hybrid arrangements, but have been largely ignored in the analysis. Particular attention will be given to Islamic donors, which play an important role in supporting the education sector in Somaliland: their specific religious character, with specific sets of legitimacy, and their impact on public service (education) provision, has not been studied properly, particularly in the context of a largely absent state.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Fellow: Gandrup Tobias

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand the client. UA provides the client research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Informal taxes play an important role in the 'real' governance of taxation. Although, both in academic and policy circles, increasing attention has been given to the issue, very little empirical data are available. Through unprecedented access to the Congolese police, this research project wants to address this gap.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand VLIR. UA provides VLIR research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof
• Co-promoter: De Herdt Tom

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand VLIR. UA provides VLIR research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Northern Uganda has been ravaged by war for the last 2 decades, but has known peace since 2005. The conflict has been a defining characteristic of Uganda polities and society, and the reconstruction process is equally important. This process is however affected by a range of governance problems, which are poorly understood. This project will generate better knowledge (academie objective) by funding PhD scholarships, research projects, research trainings, academie seminars and publications on th is issue - all of which will i) build capacity of the involved Ugandan universities, and ii) increase the networking among the Ugandan universities themselves, and with the Flemish institutes. It will also contribute to sustainable peace-building (developmental objective) by tne dissemination of the results to the relevant policy-actors and communities, which will be involved in the different phases: establishment of the research agenda, the research strategies (field research), and the dissemination ph ase.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

By studying specific state institutions, this research project aims at contributing to the theoretical debates on the nature of the state in Africa. It therefore discusses the following issues which are part of this commission: government/political systems; political sciences; public policy/administrations; political sociology.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Reyntjens Filip
• Co-promoter: Bastiaensen Johan
• Fellow: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal service agreement between UA and on the other hand International Alert. UA provides International Alert research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

This project represents a formal research agreement between UA and on the other hand WU. UA provides WU research results mentioned in the title of the project under the conditions as stipulated in this contract.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

• Development processes, actors and policies

Project type(s)

• Research Project

Abstract

Cross-border informal trade is either seen as a 'weapon of the strong' , in which political and economic elites use this trade for private profit and/or financing criminal movements; or a 'weapon of the weak', through which marginalized sections of the population try to survive. By studying the 'real' cross-border informal economy (MacGaffey 1991), this postdoctoral project wants to analyse the tension between both approaches; because this discussion has important implications for processes of economic development and state formation far beyond border areas. The West Nile border area in (North Western) Uganda, bordering (North Eastern) Congo and (South West) Sudan is chosen as a case-study.

Researcher(s)

• Promoter: De Herdt Tom
• Fellow: Titeca Kristof

Research team(s)

Project type(s)

• Research Project