Séverine Autesserre
Capsule Review
Nov/Dec
2010
Autesserre’s book provides a unique ethnography of the UN in the Congo, the outlook and values of its staff, and its operational logic. The author’s main argument is that the internal culture of the UN and the socialization of its diplomats have blinded the MONUC from properly emphasizing the local causes for the conflict in eastern Congo.
Essay
May/June
2008
Although the war in Congo officially ended in 2003, two million people have died since. One of the reasons is that the international community's peacekeeping efforts there have not focused on the local grievances in eastern Congo, especially those over land, that are fueling much of the broader tensions. Until they do, the nation's security and that of the wider Great Lakes region will remain uncertain.
