Paper short abstract:

The urban dimension of conflict has been absent from the literature on conflict in Congo. This paper presents the historical trajectory of Kitchanga to show how processes of urbanisation in rural areas in North Kivu are intertwined with processes of displacement in the context of violent conflict.

Paper long abstract:

The context of protracted conflict and mobility of people in Eastern Congo has stimulated a reconfiguration of rural-urban connections and of the demographic and spatial characteristics of the region. The urban dimension of conflict (even for smaller urban agglomerations in rural areas) has largely been absent from the massive production of literature on violent conflict in the DR Congo. This paper presents the historical and political trajectory of the boomtown Kitchanga to demonstrate how processes of urbanization in more rural areas in North Kivu (Eastern Congo) are strongly intertwined with processes of displacement in the context of violent conflict. Through the different episodes of the protracted conflict in the DRC, Kitchanga has occupied very different positions, ranging from a safe-haven for IDPs, to a rebel headquarter, to a violent battleground. This paper highlights the political aspect of urbanisation and argues that through the politics of urbanization as well as the politics of forced displacement, urban centres in conflict areas often become crucial arenas of contestation and state formation. Based on a detailed historical account of the development of Kitchanga into an urban agglomeration, the paper demonstrates that urbanism emerging from forced mobility in rural areas in North Kivu is both a product as well as a producer of conflict, of violence, and of political or military struggles over power and control. The article builds on original empirical data gathered by the two authors.