Peace and Security Studies

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'Acholi manyen made us fight': Understanding the metaphor in the former Lord’s Resistance Army female fighters' battle spaces
(Gulu university, 2019) Daniel Komakech
Drawing on from literature on women‘s agency in wars and case studying the various battle spaces occupied by the former Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) female fighters, I seek to argue that the former LRA female fighters' role in the war was unthinkable without the non-utilitarian attitudinalpsycho value motivation construct of Acholi manyen (New Acholi). Therefore, the repertoire of violence participated in by the former LRA female fighters, was constructed around the Acholi manyen, making it pervasive in the LRA war discourse and system. In a sense, I try to validate the point that the stage of the political in the LRA rebellion was majorly the reconstruction of Acholi manyen through re- Acholicisation. This reconfiguration and imagining, was to reconstitute the political, economic and social landscape of Acholi. A transition from the 'outside' - the bush (a metaphor for old Acholi, Acholi B) that was ambiguously inhabited, to the 'inside' - a restructured and re-spatialised continuum. A new 'Jerusalem' (as Acholi manyen was alternatively referred), as placeholder of the normal (Prugl, 2003). Second, by typifying the former LRA female fighter status, I connect to the broader literature on female fighter status (Coulter, 2008) and literature on the motivation of the female fighters.
An international criminal court courtroom in every parish: victims' experiences and perceptions in the case of Dominic Ongwen
(Gulu University, 2026) OKWIR Martin Dennis
Abstract This study provides a unique, in-depth examination of victim participation in international criminal justice processes. It uncovers the lived realities of victims obscured by formalistic legal processes, as articulated by the victims themselves. It explores the engagement of victims through the case of Dominic Ongwen at the International Criminal Court (ICC), by centring the experiences of victims from Lukodi, in Gulu district, northern Uganda. Driven by the aspiration to understand how victims experience and navigate the usually sophisticated judicial environment, the study analyses the different forms of participation, the challenges victims encounter, and their perceptions of justice and satisfaction through the long and often difficult judicial journey. Adopting a qualitative phenomenological approach contextualised within a constructivist paradigm, this research harnesses data that was collected over an extended period of seven years, using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, key informant conversations, and document reviews. The findings of this study unveil a complex reality of victim engagement. They show that meaningful engagement of victims is often constrained by procedural, structural, physical, logistical, and psychological obstacles, among others. Despite numerous near-debilitating challenges to their participation, victims continue to demonstrate unwavering resilience and agency as they navigate participation, a platform that is often symbolic while also carrying the potential for genuine empowerment. A novel, hybrid theoretical perspective, here referred to as the “Triune Hybrid Model of Victim Participation” (THM-VP), which blends restorative justice, participatory justice, and structural power theories, has been adopted to understand the complex forces that shape victim participation. The study presents important, yet unique insights into the growing role of victims in international justice processes, and calls for the strengthening of victim-centred approaches that not only recognise the legal rights for participation, but also creatively integrate the social and emotional dimensions of justice. The insights explicated in this study have significant implications for both policy and practice within the context of transitional justice. They provide much-needed guidance for international institutions on how to understand and better support victims to attain recognition, healing, and meaningful participation in judicial processes that have the potential to transform their lives and those of their societies.
Conflict Over Environmental Resources: Tensions between the Refugees and Host Communities in Adjumani District, Northern Uganda
(2026-09-28) Okello Moses Rubangangeyo
This study analyzed the complex dynamics of environmental resource-related conflicts between refugees and host communities in Adjumani District, Northern Uganda. Its general objective was to analyze the extent to which the influx of South Sudanese refugees had created these tensions. Specifically, the research aimed to investigate the factors that contributed to these conflicts, assess their socio-economic impact on both refugee and host populations, and analyze the effectiveness of existing policies and interventions designed to address them. The study employed a qualitative research design. Data were accurately collected through 8 Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and 31 household interviews conducted with both refugee and host community members. The primary data was complemented by a comprehensive review of relevant secondary literature and policy documents. Data analysis utilized a thematic approach, incorporating verbatim quotes to capture the real lived experiences and perspectives of the participants. Findings revealed that intense competition over increasingly scarce environmental resources, particularly land, water, and firewood, exacerbated by environmental degradation and inadequate resource management, significantly fuelled tensions. These conflicts had profound socio-economic consequences, including disrupted livelihoods, increased poverty, strained social cohesion, and heightened safety concerns, particularly for vulnerable women and girls. While various conflict resolution mechanisms and environmental restoration efforts were in place, the study identified critical gaps in policy implementation, resource limitations, and a notable lack of equitable host community involvement, which often led to further resentment. The study concluded that environmental resource conflicts in Adjumani were complex and deeply affected both refugee and host populations, indicating that current interventions, despite their good intentions, were often insufficient or inequitably applied. It recommended the urgent need for more inclusive and context-specific policies, equitable resource management practices, and strengthened community-based conflict resolution mechanisms that meaningfully engaged all stakeholders. A limitation of this research was its specific geographical focus on Adjumani, which might limit the direct generalizability of findings to all refugee-hosting contexts. Future research could explore quantitative measures of resource depletion or long-term impacts of specific policy interventions to build upon these insights.
Contested Landscapes: Environmental Resource Tensions Between Refugees and Host Communities in Ayilo I & II, Adjumani District, Uganda
(International Journal of Advanced Research, 2026-03-20) Okello, R. Moses; Laloyo, A. Stella
ABSTRACT Introduction: Uganda has garnered significant international recognition for its progressive refugee policy, which structurally embeds local integration, the right to work, and access to land, aligning with global commitments under the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF). However, this positive policy facade conceals a complex and fragile landscape marked by profound environmental resource pressure, identity negotiation, systemic institutional weakness, and fragile social cohesion. Methodology: Focusing on long-term refugee-hosting areas, specifically Ayilo I and Ayilo II settlements in Adjumani District, Northern Uganda, this article uses qualitative fieldwork to critically examine how the scarcity of essential resources, land, water, and forest products, interacts with governance gaps, cultural misunderstandings, and perceptions of inequality to structure conflict dynamics. The analytical framework is situated within global and African comparative displacement contexts to illustrate how the combined forces of resource scarcity, rapid demographic shifts, and institutional limitations jointly contribute to environmental conflict in displacement settings. Findings: The core findings demonstrate that environmental resource conflict in Adjumani is simultaneously ecological, institutional, and socio-cultural. Conclusion and Recommendations: The article concludes by advocating for integrated, locally grounded approaches to environmental management and conflict reduction, thereby contributing theoretically to the broader scholarship on resource conflict, forced migration, and the evolving dynamics of refugee-host relations. The study recommends land policy dialogue frameworks, enhancing environmental policies, and including refugee-host representation in local governance.
COW ECONOMY: RECONSTITUTING THE BALALO COW ECONOMY DEBATE
(Document RM/OCD-23-001 Communications Department Roya Miles Transitional Justice Governance Koro, Gulu Highway, Gulu City., 2023) Daniel Komakech
Drawing from the current debate on nomadic pastoralists, particularly on the Balalo, we observe that the bigger problem is that, the Balalo and the nomadic pastoralists’ cow economy, are not able to articulate the rationale of their occupation from a policy language. Besides, nomadic pastoralist economy has since been an informal and not a formal sector and consequently, not understood and considered therefore as economically unviable. We argue that nomadic pastoralist economy is nevertheless, a system that is not anarchic or backward and therefore, not different from other modes of the economy. As a system, it is coherent and rational, with different parts, including a grazing corridor, which once disturbed results into multiple challenges. This is what we are witnessing today, with the case of the Balalo nomadic pastoralists. Similarly, the social, economic and ecological features that enable pastoralist economy and the contribution of the pastoralists to the national economy cannot be considered in isolation, because it is an integrated system. The indigenous economy and knowledge as well as scientific / capitalist economy and knowledge, are all co-existent within the landscape of cow economy. For example, the ecological value of cow and animal movements has been observed as extremely important. Consequently, there is a need to establish: Uganda Livestock Authority (ULA) and a research based Uganda Livestock Research Institute (ULRI), to reinforce the appreciation of nomadic pastoralists as well as, cow economy.
Education at the intersection of environmental, epistemic and transitional justices An initial scoping review
(JustEd: Education as and for environmental, epistemic and transitional justice, 2021) izzi O. Milligan; Patricia Ajok; María Balarin; Silvia Espinal; Mrigendra Karki; Daniel Komakech; Gwadabe Kurawa; Carlos Monge; Expedito Nuwategeka; Mohan Paudel; Julia Paulson; Srijana Ranabhat; Paola Sarmiento; Robin Shields; Ashik Singh; Ganesh Bahadur Singh; Rachel Wilder
This paper is the final of four theoretical background papers for JustEd – a research project that aims to understand how secondary school learners' knowledge and experiences of environmental, epistemic and transitional justice, in and out of school, relate to learners’ intended actions with respect to SDG 13 (climate action) and SDG 16 (peace) in Nepal, Peru and Uganda. This paper starts to identify the links between these justices in education and points to the ways that they can be complementary to, and enriching of, social justice perspectives. Through exploring the links across the three justices, we suggest that there are two key relationships between education and these multiple justices. The first is education as a means to achieve different forms of justice in the ways that education can lead to justice, for example, how access to schooling is considered a distribution of resources, or how learning about past conflict could enable positive peace. The second is education as an (un)just space in the ways that teaching/learning processes and social practices in classrooms, schools and in the wider environment reflect and embody different forms of justice.
Exploring Human - Wildlife Conflicts through the Livelihoods Framework in Nwoya District
(Gulu University, 2026-09-14) Aloyo Innocent Jessie
This study conducts a detailed evaluation of human-wildlife conflicts (HWC) in the Lii subcounty of Nwoya District, with the goal of understanding the impacts of these conflicts, measuring the effectiveness of mitigation strategies, and assessing community involvement and policy execution; employing a cross-sectional methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. The research reveals that HWC is an extensive issue affecting nearly all surveyed households, predominantly driven by problematic encounters with elephants, leading to substantial economic setbacks, including an average 75% decrease in annual crop yields and a 60% drop in household income, with potential financial losses reaching UGX 40,000,000 yearly. Moreover, these conflicts significantly undermine all five capital assets of the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework, causing deep psychosocial impacts like chronic stress and fear reminiscent of the LRA insurgency. Although households implement various strategies to deter wildlife, their effectiveness is often viewed as limited, especially as elephants adapt to traditional deterrents. A significant finding is the pervasive dissatisfaction with current HWC management, fueled by a sense of exclusion from decision making and inadequate governmental or NGO support. This frustration is exacerbated by a lack of feedback on reported incidents, intensifying the belief that the government prioritizes wildlife over human welfare. The study calls for urgent, sustainable solutions that prioritize genuine community engagement and address underlying issues such as incomplete fencing and habitat destruction to achieve harmonious coexistence between humans and wildlife.
Exploring transitional justice in educational research Background paper
(University of Bath (UK), www.bath.ac.uk/projects/justed/, 2021-07) Julia Paulson; Silvia Espinal Mrigendra; Komakech Daniel; Gwadabe KurawaSrijana Ranabhat
This paper provides an overview of the development of transitional justice as a field of practice and area of scholarly research before exploring the relationships between education and transitional justice. It has been drafted by members of the JustED team to provide background into one of the types of justice – transitional justice – that the project focuses on. In developing this overview, the paper outlines key elements of the approach that the JustED will take to understanding and engaging with transitional justice, including by arguing for a focus on transformative, reparative transitional justice that includes material, symbolic and pedagogical actions to redress the wrongs of the past, including those linked to colonial, imperial and capitalist oppression and extraction. The second half of the paper introduces the historical and contemporary context for transitional justice in the focus countries of JustEd – Nepal, Uganda and Peru. We show how the transitional justice has developed in each country, to differing degrees, and suggest some of the ways that JustED will particularly focus attention on aspects of transitional justice in education and from young people’s perspectives.
From crisis to context: Reviewing the future of sustainable charcoal in Africa
(Energy Research & Social Science , ElsevierLtd., 2021-12-08) BranchaJok, Adam; Kwaku, A. Frank; Gai ,Anaic; Laloyo ,A. Stella; Bartlett , Ann; Brownell, Emily; Caravani, Matteo; Cavanagh, Joseph Connor; Fennell, Shailada; Langole, Stephen; Mabele, Bukhi Mathew; Mwampamba , Heita Tuyeni; Njenga, Mary; Owor, Arthur; Phillips, Jon; Tiltimamer, Nhial
ABSTRACT Is charcoal a sustainable energy source in Africa? This is a crucial question, given charcoal's key importance to urban energy. In today's dominant policy narrative – the charcoal-crisis narrative – charcoal is deemed incom patible with sustainable and modern energy, blamed for looming ecological catastrophe, and demanding replacement. However, an emerging sustainability-through-formalization narrative posits that charcoal can be made sustainable – specifically, through formalization of production, trade, markets, and consumption technologies. This represents an important opportunity to go beyond the crisis narrative and to engage productively with charcoal. However, this ascendent narrative also risks misrepresenting the reality of charcoal on the continent and leading to inappropriate policies. The narrative's designation of the African charcoal sector as unsustainable at present obscures charcoal production's diverse and uncertain impacts across the continent; moreover, the association of informality with unsustainability obscures a similarly complex and diverse social reality as well as the ways that social processes and relations of power and inequality determine charcoal's sustainability. We argue that charcoal needs to be considered within its historical, social, and environmental contexts to better understand its present and the emergent pathways to sustainable energy futures. We draw upon research that is raising questions about both the charcoal-crisis and the sustainability-through-formalization narratives to argue for a new narrative of charcoal in context. This approaches charcoal as a politically, ecologically, and historically embedded resource, entailing significant socio-ecological complexity across diverse historical and geographical conjunctures, and calling for new agendas of interdisciplinary research with an orientation towards sustainability and justice.
Human–Wildlife Conflict and Livelihood Vulnerability: A Sustainable Livelihoods Framework Analysis from Northern Uganda
(East African Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2026-04-07) Aloyo, J. Innocent; Laloyo , A .Stella
ABSTRACT Introduction: Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) remains a major barrier to sustainable development in conservation-adjacent landscapes across Sub-Saharan Africa, where frequent wildlife incursions threaten livelihoods, food security, and social cohesion. In northern Uganda, communities in Lii Subcounty, Nwoya District, face repeated crop destruction, livestock predation, and human injuries, creating complex socioeconomic, environmental, and governance challenges. This study examines the multidimensional impacts of HWC on household livelihoods using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to capture the interplay of economic, human, social, natural, and physical capital. Methodology: A mixed-methods design was employed, combining 126 household surveys, 6 key informant interviews, and 5 focus group discussions involving 40 participants. Quantitative data measured the scale of economic losses, food insecurity, and livelihood disruptions, while qualitative narratives provided insights into lived experiences, coping strategies, and social dynamics of HWC. Findings: Findings indicate that HWC constitutes a multidimensional shock undermining all five livelihood capitals. Economically, households reported annual losses averaging UGX 5,823,636, with over 57.7% experiencing severe food insecurity. Human capital is diminished through injuries, fatigue, and psychological distress associated with constant farm protection. Women and children bear a disproportionate burden, facing increased labour demands, heightened exposure to risks, and rising incidences of gender-based violence. Social cohesion is eroded by fear, mistrust, and reduced cooperation, while educational outcomes are disrupted as children miss school to guard crops or due to insecurity. Conclusion and Recommendations: The study concludes that unresolved HWC represents a multidimensional development and governance crisis that undermines progress toward SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality), and 15 (Life on Land). Policy recommendations emphasise integrated, participatory, and gender-responsive strategies: strengthening community-based wildlife management, establishing early warning systems, implementing compensation or insurance schemes for livelihood losses, and aligning conservation policy with local development priorities through adaptive co-management frameworks. These measures are essential to mitigate risks, enhance resilience, and promote sustainable human–wildlife coexistence, ensuring that both conservation objectives and community livelihoods are supported in the long term.
Imagining futures/future imaginings: creative heritage work with young people in Uganda
(the british academy, 2023-12) Kate Moles; Will Baker; Francis Nono; Daniel Komakech; Arthur Owor
Drawing on research in Uganda, we describe our project in which we invited young people to think about their lives in ways that opened up creative and hopeful imaginaries of the future. We understand future imaginary work to be a significant part of memory work. An important component in the ways we think about the past is imagining the futures it ties to. We wanted the idea of the future to be something our young participants constructed together, in dialogue and iteratively, so that the project had a sense of collaboration and shared interests. To do so we developed the idea of a touring exhibition through which multiple voices, positions, understandings and values could be accommodated side by side. The article contributes to scholarly and public debates about reparations and memorialisation, particularly by showing the crucial role young people can play in articulating more just futures.
Pastoral education: The missing link in Uganda education system
(Educational Research and Reviews, 2019) Ochieng Sidonia Angom; Waiswa David Claeve
Pastoralism is a production system closely linked with cultural identity that relies on raising livestock on pastures. Studies indicate that over 30 million people in the Great Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda) practice pastoralism and agro-pastoralism as a major source of livelihoods. Livestock are their social, cultural, spiritual and economic assets providing food and income for the family within and between generations. Yet this important production system of livelihood as well as socialisation mechanism is missing in the school or university curriculum of these countries including Uganda. With the exception of Tanzania and Ethiopia that have recently designed a curriculum on pastoral studies in their university curriculum, pastoral education has been missing in the school and University curriculum of the Great Horn of Africa school systems yet most of these countries livelihoods depend on pastoralism. From the socialisation perspective, the dynamism surrounding the livelihoods of these communities and/ or families impedes peace in society. Families as social units play very important role of socialisation and recreation therefore, making pastoral education an important element not only from an African traditional context but also from the sociological perspectives. The sense and complex nature of communities and households struggling to improve on their own survival and development through the practice of pastoralism are complex yet central to the maintenance of peace and stability of the communities. The inclusion of pastoral education to the school and university curriculum as a common or cross cutting course unit would introduce undergraduate and postgraduate students to the fascinating and rich world of pastoralism. This would provide the students with knowledge and skills to analyse and understand pastoral systems as they exist today, and the options for their future development in support of national economic growth in a changing world. The curriculum would also help students from different backgrounds to understand how pastoralism functions as a system, its contributions to local, national and global economies and sustainable environmental management, and its role in promoting peace, socialisation, and harmony between pastoral and other communities.
Remain or return? Dual citizenship and uncertainity: the case of South Sudanese refugees in Lamwo District, Northern Uganda
(Gulu University, 2026) Achiro Flavia
Uganda remains Africa’s largest hosting country for many refugees from different African States such as South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, and others with refugees from South Sudan constituting the largest percentage of the total refugee populations. This study and question on Remain or return? Dual citizenship and uncertainty, was carried out in Palabek refugee settlement in Lamwo district, Northern Uganda. The study was guided by three objectives including (a) to examine factors that influence the pursuit for dual citizenship (b) to explore and describe the perceptions of South Sudanese refugees towards dual citizenship and (c) to understand and document how the practice to dual citizenship can be strategized. A qualitative research approach was employed and data collected over a period of three weeks. A case study design was used with attendant methods being interviews and focus group discussions. Case study research design allowed for an understanding of phenomena in real life situations and for the collection of a great deal of information regarding the topic. Furthermore, the key informants identified for this study were purposively selected and included the Refugees, the Woman Leader, Refugee Welfare Committee 3 & 2, Office of the Prime Minister, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Immigration office. The key findings showed that there is inadequate knowledge about dual citizenship amongst the refugees. Another finding was that refugees hardly have access to dual citizenship programs as; some of them have resorted to intermarriage to easily acquire dual citizenship. To remedy this, the research recommends that awareness on dual citizenship should be introduced in the settlement to enable the refugees know their rights. Secondly, the authorities working in the settlement handling refugee affairs especially OPM and UNHCR should work closely with the refugee local leaders and other organizations advocating for the right to citizenship by refugees. With this partnership, it will help to harmonize the gaps surrounding the right to dual citizenship.
The gendered postconflict city: Possibilities for more livable urban transformations in Gulu, northern Uganda
(journal of urban affairs, 2022-08-11) John C.Harris; Komakech Daniel; Monk David; Maria del Guadalupe Davidson
Scholars acknowledge that postconflict urbanism is undertheorized and underdeveloped for practical governance or sustainable urban management, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, which has unfortunately experienced significant conflict in the post-independence period. We argue that postconflict redevelopment theory and practice under appreciates liminal spaces and the precarious existence of postconflict people, especially postconflict women. We examine the extant literature on Gulu, Uganda, to develop theory and urban management concepts around the notion of the gendered postconflict city as a unique urban identity and re-center the analysis on the everyday experiences, agency, and city building practices of women. We posit three realities for understanding the gendered postconflict city: (1) the postconflict gendered city is a liminal space beyond the notions of contingency and fluidity often assigned to African cities, (2) it is a place of deep and abiding trauma, and (3) it is a place of invisibility and precarity for women who selforganize to reduce precarity. We make a series of recommendations for postconflict urban management based on these realities that include recognizing liminality in postconflict planning and setting aside the impulse to prioritize the global competitiveness of postconflict cities above all else. These have important implications for NGO and national development practices.
The hard work of reparative futures: Exploring the potential of creative and convivial practices in post-conflict Uganda
(Elsevier, 2023) Kate Moles; Florence Anek; Will Baker; Daniel Komakech; Arthur Owor; Catriona Pennell; Jennifer Rowsel
In this paper we empirically explore the ways in which young people were enroled in a multimodal exhibition to creatively produce narratives of their past, presents and futures. We look at the different ways this work was framed, and how all memory work and, we argue, future work is relational, interactionally produced and situated in dynamic and unfolding social and political frameworks. We look at the ways young people described the work of producing accounts of their futures within that setting, and the different forms of labour involved in that process. We explore the encounters that fostered local, more humble, acts of care and repair, and how those everyday practices might help build towards reparative futures.
The Role of Monuments in Post Conflict Recovery:The Study of Atiak Monument in Atiak Sub-County,Amuru District.
(Gulu University, 2026-09-15) Anek Josephine
ABSTRACT This study explored the relationship between monuments and post-conflict recovery in Acholi land, a case study of Atiak memorial in Atiak sub-county, Amuru district. The objectives of the study were to establish the role of the Atiak monument in post-conflict recovery, to examine the effectiveness of post-conflict recovery efforts in Atiak sub-county and to establish the role of International Actors in memorialization and monument construction in Atiak sub-county, Amuru District-Uganda. The study was conducted using a case study design; data was collected using interview guides from 46 respondents. Interview data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis for objectives one to three. The findings were presented in form of tables and narratives from interviews. Findings revealed that the Atiak monument is central to the post-conflict recovery efforts in Atiak sub-county. The findings showed that there is a multi-dimensional approach to healing both psychosocial needs and fostering educational, cultural and social awareness. Findings showed that the post-conflict recovery efforts in Atiak sub-county have been largely effective, particularly in building social cohesion, peace, cultural restoration and justice. Findings further revealed that the construction of the Atiak monument was a significant achievement made possible through the collective efforts of various International Actors: United Nations and UNESCO, European Union, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, International Criminal Court (ICC) Governments and Embassies. The study recommends that to further enhance the impact of the Atiak monuments, the community should implement interactive educational programmes at the monument sites involving schools and local organizations in activities such as workshops, storytelling and history lessons, it also recommended that targeted interventions be implemented by local government to address the gaps in psychosocial support activities to the community, infrastructure, security and to build on the international support for the Atiak monument. It is recommended that the community and international stakeholders establish annual forums or commemorative events at the monument. Key words: Monuments, Post-Conflict Recovery, Acholi land.

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