Christoph Vogel

Brokers of crisis: the everyday uncertainty of Eastern Congo's mineral négociants *

Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congos (DRC) artisanal mining sector is often linked to the violent conflicts that have beset Central Africa for over two decades. While many analyses emphasise its ‘criminal’ and ‘illegal’ nature, less attention has been paid to the ambiguity of this economy, most prominently incarnated by the intermediate mineral traders called negociants . Focusing on their entrepreneurship, networks and everyday activities, this essay offers a more nuanced understanding of local mineral trade in the context of a ‘crisis economy’ framed by competing governable orders. It investigates the uncertainty along eastern DRCs mineral supply chains, that are undergoing major regulatory changes to curb the trade of so-called ‘conflict minerals’. Drawing from extensive fieldwork, this essay demonstrates how this uncertainty shapes the negociants’ role as brokers of socio-economic life in the provinces of North and South Kivu.

Recycling rebels? Demobilization in the Congo

The first DDR programme began in 2003. Assisted by NGOs and mainly financed by the World Bank, the Commission nationale de désarmement et réinsertion (CONADER, National Disarmament and Reinsertion Commission) was mandated to facilitate ex-combatants’ return to civilian life. Although former DDR programmes had little success—the Kivu provinces alone currently count more than 70 armed groups1—the Plan global national de DDR III (Global National Plan for DDR III) was adopted in 2014 and, after a long row over finance and programming, was finally implemented in 2015.