This book examines the causes, course and consequences of warfare in twentieth century Africa, a period which spanned colonial rebellions, both World Wars, and the decolonization process.
Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC; the Congo) has been ongoing since the 1990s. The country has faced political repression and instability since it achieved independence in 1960.
What are the stakes of cultural production in a time of war? How is artistic expression prone to manipulation by the state and international humanitarian organizations? In the charged political terrain of post-genocide Rwanda, post-civil war Uganda, and recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Laura Edmondson explores performance through the lens of empire.
Congo is ground zero of what has been called “Africa’s First World War,” having drawn in forces from Angola, Burundi, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe. According to a study conducted by the International Rescue Committee, a humanitarian aid organization, more than 5 million people have died in the war. Its root cause is the genocide in neighboring Rwanda, where, in 1994, Hutus killed Tutsis en masse.