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Publication

Stones thrown online. The Politics of Insults, Distance and Impunity in Congolese Polémique

Book Contribution - Chapter

Based on (n)ethnographic research on digital activism of Combattants, i.e. Congolese living in the diaspora and contesting J. Kabila’s political leadership in DR Congo, this chapter situates anti-Kabila diatribes within the transformations of the discursive speech genre of the mbwakela, which first emerged in the context of rivalry among co-wives in Léopoldville (colonial Kinshasa), then transformed in the postcolonial era into political protest through music, and in the digital era has become a genre of contestation in the diaspora communities. The chapter thus calls for an exploration of the socio-cultural histories of digital forms of protest, contestation and organizing.
Book: Theorising Media and Conflict
Pages: 237 - 254
ISBN:978-1-78920-682-1
Publication year:2020
Accessibility:Open