S2 Ep4: Decolonising conflict research in the Global South: reflections and dialogues

Conflict Zone from the LSE

Conflict research as a subject area has often been prone to colonial mindsets and thinking. In a world in which power disparities between wealthy states and the former colonial world remain very large - indeed, often huge - there are significant structural imbalances of power between the the North and South. These are reflected in the resources available to the academic community. Privilege can often create regressive attitudes and mindsets, which reinforce and reproduce these power disparities.
In this episode, we introduce the Silent Voices Bukavu Project, a collaborative research project, based on the sharing of experiences and creation of dialogue, which has created an intellectual and cultural resource for the global academy. The project seeks to identify and share problems in order to promote and encourage collaborative best practices.
Featuring professor Koen Vlassenroot, Director of the Conflict Research Group at Ghent University, Emery Mudinga, the Director of Angaza Institute and Associate Professor at Higher Institute for Rural Development, Bukavu, and Irène Bahati, a Congolese researcher at the Study Group on Conflict and Human Security and Teacher at the Higher Pedagogical Institute of Bukavu.
Producers: Luke Cooper, Azaria Morgan
Sound editor: Camilo Tirado
Intro music: The Drama by Rafael Krux (used for education purposes under Creative Commons License).
This podcast series has been funded by the UK government’s Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) as part of the LSE Conflict Research Programme. The ideas expressed in the podcast do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of the UK Government/FCDO.