Projects
The conundrum of violence against civilians: Explaining civilian abuse by armed forces in the eastern DR Congo Ghent University
The eastern DRC has been mired in ongoing violent conflict for more than two decades. Civilians bear the brunt of this violence, which is mostly committed by armed forces. This research project examines the patterns of and processes underlying civilian abuse in the eastern DRC, aiming to explain when and why armed forces commit abuses against civilians and their property.
Comparing technology cultures in urban DR Congo (1960-present): Kinshasa, Kikwit and Lubumbashi. KU Leuven
Optimising community antibiotic use and infection control with behavioural interventions in rural Burkina Faso and DR Congo (CABU-EICO). University of Antwerp
The socio-economic impact of artisanal mining in eastern DR Congo Ghent University
In eastern DR Congo, the artisanal exploitation of coltan, gold and cassiterite constitutes an important source of income for thousands of men, women and children in a context of continuing political and economic instability. The central themes of this research project are, on the one hand, the relationship between artisanal mining and access to land, and, on the other hand, the relationship between artisanal mining and processes of ...
Turning up the heat. Second-round effects of a green energy intervention in Eastern DR Congo. University of Antwerp
The politics of hidden urbanisation in the D.R. Congo Ghent University
This project sets out to investigate ‘hidden’ forms of urbanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in order to achieve a better understanding of the profoundly political character of rapid urbanisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. Several of Congo’s provinces experience the unplanned mushrooming of new small towns in areas that have been predominantly rural, a process that has received only limited academic and policy attention. From a ...
Effects of tropical rainforest disturbance on gene flow, genomic diversity and introgression in understory trees: the case of Coffea canephora in the Congo basin. KU Leuven
Tropical rainforests cover only 7% of the earth’s surface, but they are by far the richest biomes in terms of vascular plant diversity. To ensure the resilience and long-term stability of tropical rainforests, fostering the regeneration of the occurring woody plant species is critical. Yet, crucial aspects of gene flow, including pollination and seed dispersal, have become strongly jeopardized through ongoing large-scale anthropogenic ...
Pollination biology and mating patterns of wild Robusta coffee populations in the Congo Basin KU Leuven
Tropical rainforests cover only 7% of the earth’s surface, but they are by far the richest biomes in terms of vascular plant diversity. To ensure the resilience and long-term stability of tropical rainforests, fostering the regeneration of the occurring woody plant species is critical. Yet, crucial aspects of gene flow, including pollination and seed dispersal, have become strongly jeopardized through ongoing large-scale anthropogenic ...
Urban landscapes of colonial/postcolonial health care. Towards a spatial mapping of the performance of hospital infrastructure in Kinshasa, Mbandaka and Kisangani (DR Congo) from past to present (1920-2014) Ghent University
A substantial literature already exists on the intricate relationship between medical science and colonialism: scholars have looked at the historical development of medical science as well as the way in which medicine was entangled in colonial policies. Yet little attention has been given so far to the physical infrastructure of health care, even though during colonial times impressive hospital complexes have been built that, notwithstanding ...