Paper short abstract:

This paper will explore the local conceptualisations of peace in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo. By investigating peace in a relatively stable region of the DRC, this presentation will look at how the Congolese speak and think about peace in terms of their everyday realities.

Paper long abstract:

The means to achieve peace, in whatever way it may be defined contingent upon time and place and actor(s), are varied, convoluted and dynamic. As Sarah Koopman states, ''[. . .] peace means different things at different scales, as well as to different groups, and at different times and places. Peace is not the same everywhere anymore than war is,' (2011: 194). Based on my fieldwork in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), this presentation will explore local understandings for peace in the relatively stable capital of the Haut-Katanga province. What forms of violence manifest and what are the conceptualisations of peace outside of dominant liberal peace knowledge production? Ukimya, Salama, Amani, Ndoe, Djitalala, Kuliva, Koujan: these are just a fraction of the words for "peace" in the local languages within Lubumbashi. While peace research in the DRC tends to focus on armed conflict in and around the North and South Kivu provinces, Lubumbashi is not without its own forms of violence, and it is not without local peace discourse. Conceptualisations of peace are embedded within language, songs, proverbs, and within the everyday. Not only are "Amani" and "Salama" used in reference to war and armed conflict, but the notions of peace are also present within the individual, the family, and the community.